The Red Sea crisis at present has not affected the availability of containers for traders and the government is closely monitoring the situation, Parliament was informed on Friday. Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel said that exports from India are continuing as the sailings of containers carrying ships from India have been diverted via the Cape of Good Hope route, encircling Africa.

 

“The crisis in Red Sea, at present, has also not much affected the availability of containers in most of the ports,” she said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. The crisis began after Yemen-based Houthi rebels launched frequent attacks on commercial shipping vessels plying through the route in November as a fallout of the Israeli-Palestinian war. Due to the crisis, the movement of goods from the Red Sea, the world's busiest shipping route, has disrupted the global supply chains as vessels have to take long routes for exports and imports. The minister said that Indian Navy has substantially enhanced maritime surveillance efforts in central/north Arabian Sea and augmented force levels. “Aerial surveillance by long-range maritime patrol aircraft and RPAs (Remotely piloted aircraft system) has been enhanced to have a complete maritime domain awareness,”she said. She added that towards effective surveillance of EEZ (exclusive economic zone), Indian Navy is operating in close coordination with Coast Guard.

 

“The overall situation is being closely monitored by the Government,” Patel said. In another reply, she said that some increase in freight cost has been reported by the industry. Replying to a separate question, Patel said the surge in imports of copper into India in the last two years is attributed to increased demand for copper due to rapid economic growth, infrastructure development, and the ongoing transition to green energy such as renewable energy and electric vehicles. “The extent to which Indian industry and the ease of doing business have been impacted by copper imports in the recent past is multifaceted and influenced by various factors including industry dynamics, regulatory environment, government policies, supply chain resilience,” she said.