Via John Bambridge in meed.com: Riyadh-based Jadwa Investment has now estimated that disruption to commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has contributed to a 25-50% construction material price rise in recent weeks. This steep rise comes amid renewed escalation in the Red Sea following a start to the year characterised more by falling risk perceptions due to the heavy build-up of the US-led naval coalition in the area. All of this changed on 18 February with the holing of the UK-owned Rubymar, which sank on 3 March. That ship had been carrying Saudi fertiliser from Dammam to Bulgaria. However, perhaps a more direct concern for the Saudi construction sector is the strike on 6 March of the bulk carrier True Confidence, which came from China loaded with steel and commercial vehicles.
