Sal Mercogliano on What’s Happening in the Suez Canal Right Now

Attacks on ships in the Red Sea continue to escalate. What started with narrow strikes by Yemeni-based Houthi militants against Israel-linked vessels has now expanded to ships carrying a wide range of freight, including oil and liquified natural gas. The US military has responded with strikes against Houthi targets, but so far they don't appear to have much of a deterring effect. Meanwhile shipping delays and costs — driven in part by anxious insurers — continue to worsen. To understand the challenge to global trade and how bad it could get, we speak with maritime historian Sal Mercogliano, a professor at Campbell University and the host of the What Is Going On With Shipping? show on YouTube. He discusses how shipping companies are making operational decisions in the area, how boat crews are coping, and how various international militaries are responding. He also talks about the broad history of the US Navy and its traditional role in securing international trading routes. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Key insights from the pod:
The scale of disruption in the Red Sea — 2:55
The evolution of the Houthi strategy — 4:06
How war risk insurance is assessed — 6:44
Who decides what route to take? — 8:47
Naval responses to recent Red Sea attacks — 11:14
What it’s like sailing through the Suez Canal right now — 13:55
Safety risk and crew compensation — 18:09
The jump in spot rates and the cost of shipping — 19:46
Commerce and the creation of the US Navy — 23:34
The risk of regionalization in shipping — 26:34
Piracy in the early 2000s — 28:33
The Indian naval response — 30:19
Challenges for the US Navy — 32:55
Resolutions to the Red Sea Attacks — 36:11
When the US will be impacted — 37:53
Books on naval history — 40:34
The role of the Jones Act — 41:46