The Canadian Association of Agri-Retailers joins more than 100 signatories calling for wider government cooperation to keep Red Sea shipping lanes open and safe.

The signatories – representing a range of critical industries such as food and agricultural products, retail, energy, clothing, shoes, electronics, and medicine – are urging governments to join, support, or align with the mission to support safe and secure maritime commerce in the Red Sea (which accounts for 30 percent of the world’s trade) and across the globe.

The open letter from the Joint Global Trade Association urging maritime security reads as follows:

As representatives of organizations whose members depend on safe and secure ocean shipping routes, we urgently call on countries to join, support, or align with the mission to support safe and secure maritime commerce in the Red Sea – such as that of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a multinational security initiative with at least 23 participating countries to date. Alignment around such efforts ensures that the world’s governments can work together to defend maritime security not only in the Red Sea but also across the globe.

Martime safety and security are vital for our collective industries, and the overall global economy. It is imperative that governments unite behind a zero-tolerance approach to deter attacks on commercial vessels and seafarers in the Red Sea, and anywhere in the world. The prosperity of millions of people who are employed in our industries and in the global maritime industry depends on safe and secure freedom of navigation.

The Red Sea is vital and moves 30 percent of the world’s trade, including critical items like food and agricultural products, energy, clothing, shoes, electronics, and medicine. Terrorist attacks in the Red Sea imperil the safety and security of crew and cargo, which is now forcing carriers to divert to other routes.

These atacks have already caused upwards of $80 billion in cargo to be diverted around the Cape of Good Hope. Traveling around the Cape of Good Hope adds at least 2-3 weeks of travel and hundreds of thousands in additional fuel and labor costs compared to traveling through the Suez Canal. This alternative route becomes even more challenging during the Southern Hemisphere winter months.

The consequences of these atacks extend beyond immediate financial losses. Route changes are causing port congestion, equipment shortages, and soaring shipping rates across the globe, all of which create inflationary impacts. Even shipping lanes on the other side of the world from the Red Sea are beginning to be adversely affected. The ripple effects in cost and capacity issues for the industries that depend upon safe and secure maritime commerce are incalculable, particularly since global transportation is already strained from reduced access to the drought ridden Panama Canal.

This is truly a global problem that demands the participation and support of all nations that rely on global trade.

It is imperative that countries that have not yet joined or aligned with this vital mission do so immediately. Widespread participation and cooperation among nations are essential to signal the importance of free and fair treatment in international waters.