Trade
A Detour of 8,000 Kilometers Highlights Shipping’s Chokepoints
- Tanker shunned Panama Canal, then avoided Suez Canal: Kpler
- Reroutes are adding to freight costs, weighing on supply chain
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A gas tanker’s long, circuitous journey is highlighting the toll that war and climate change are taking on the shipping industry.
Pacific Weihai loaded in Houston on Dec. 14 with a cargo of liquefied petroleum gas intended for Ningbo, China, a route that should typically take 30 days. Instead, it faces an additional 15 days at sea, 8,000 kilometers in travel distance and potentially $1.8 million in shipping rates to avoid two key chokepoints that are upending global trade.