Australian mining giant BHP Group says Red Sea disruptions are forcing some of its freight service providers to take alternative routes, such as Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, while others still prefer the Red Sea with additional controls.

“The Red Sea is one of the key shipping routes in the world, however, the majority of BHP’s shipments do not go through this route,” and there have been no major business disruptions so far, the world’s largest listed miner said in a statement on Thursday.

The move follows reports from companies such as oil major BP and Shell that have paused transits through the Red Sea as strikes on commercial vessels by the Iran-aligned Houthis have stymied trade between Europe and Asia.

Some shipping companies have instructed vessels to reroute via a slower and more expensive Cape of Good Hope.

Some 320 million tons of bulk commodities sail through the Suez Canal and through the Red Sea, accounting for seven per cent of global dry bulk trade, BHP’s head of maritime iron ore, Gerard Ang, said at an industry conference in Singapore earlier on Thursday.

In the short term, this could lead to a squeeze in tonnage supply in the North Atlantic market which translates to a more volatile, dry bulk market for shipping, Mr Ang said.

The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that BHP was diverting almost all of its shipments from Asia to Europe away from the Red Sea.

The miner, with operations spread across Australia, Chile, Brazil, the United States and Canada, primarily produces copper, iron ore and metallurgical coal.

It generated $US1.96 billion ($A2.98 billion) in revenue from Europe in 2023, about 3.6 per cent of its total revenue of $US53.82 billion ($A81.70 billion).

“From a long-term perspective, we don’t really see a big profound impact on the trade,” Mr Ang said.

Australian Associated Press