Nine LNG carriers were logged as taking the Suez Canal route to Asia in December — half the number recorded a month earlier, analyst RBN Energy says.

Houthi militants in Yemen have attacked more than 20 ships in the Red Sea since November, prompting many owners and operators to divert from the region.

In its LNG Voyager monthly figures, the energy analyst said most of the LNG ships heading south through the canal were in the first half of December.