IKEA has warned of stock shortages after Christmas following the recent spate of Houthi rebel attacks.
The menacing group have wreaked havoc on the Suez Canal forcing Ikea, Maersk and other major shipping companies to re route via southern Africa.
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The Iran-backed militia have previously fired missiles at ships daring to venture into the dangerous waters and even hijacked one after dropping from a helicopter.
Fears are now spreading that the chaos on the vital Red Sea cargo shipping route – worth £1trillion – will cause world trade to grind to a halt.
Ikea has warned it faces delays and possible shortages to some products but has said it’s looking for other options to ensure customers don’t suffer.
A spokesperson for Inter Ikea Group, said: “What we can share for now is that the situation in the Suez Canal will result in delays and may cause availability constraints for certain Ikea products,”
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Travelling via southern Africa will add about 10 days on to a journey from Asia to North Europe and the East Mediterranean, experts said.
It typically takes about 27 days to sail from Shanghai in China to the Dutch port of Rotterdam.
Another company to suffer due to the Houthi rebels is Dairy giant Danone.
A spokesperson for the company said that most of its shipments had been diverted, increasing transit times.
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Should the situation continue beyond two to three months, the group will activate mitigation plans, including using alternate routes via sea or road wherever possible.
The canal accounts for about 12 per cent of the world’s shipping traffic.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday the United States was leading a multinational operation to safeguard commerce in the Red Sea.
It comes after we told how Over £1trillion of world trade is at risk as Houthi rebels unleash chaos on the narrowest and most perilous stretch of the Red Sea – the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Ships attempting to navigate the 20 mile-wide gap are being forced to sail dangerously close to the coast of Yemen, where increasingly emboldened Houthi rebels are waiting to strike.
Inside the terrifying Gate of Tears
The Bab-el-Mandeb has been dubbed the Gate of Tears for decades because of the dangers surrounding navigating through it.
It separates Yemen and Djibouti and splits both Asia and Africa apart while connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
Sitting 20 miles wide overall the Gate of Tears is actually split into two channels – east and west.
The western channel – dubbed Dact el Mayun – is the larger of the two at 12.6 miles where as the eastern section is just 3.34 miles and is called the Bab Iskender or Alexander’s Strait.
Despite the western section being wider it’s much shallower sitting at 98ft whereas the eastern channel can reach staggering depths of over 1,000ft.
Around 10 per cent of all global trade passes through the treacherous route each year and about 17,000 ships making it one of the world’s most important trade routes for oil and fuel shipments.
It is thought that up to 50 huge merchant ships pass through the strait everyday and First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key said: “One sixth of the world’s commercial shipping passes through the Bab-el-Mandeb and Red Sea.”
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