Asia-Europe forwarders and shippers are bracing for ocean space and equipment shortages for the next few weeks as pre-Chinese New Year demand and longer voyages by ships diverting around the southern tip of Africa remove capacity from the trade lane. 

Attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea by Houthi militants have forced container carriers to reroute vessels via the Cape of Good Hope, adding 6,000 miles and an additional two weeks in transit time.  

Kuehne+Nagel data on Wednesday showed 360 vessels were steaming around Africa in both directions, extending the voyages of almost 5 million TEUs in capacity and…