March 202 6 Hormuz closure creates turmoil in container shipping The gradual path to normalization in the Red Sea ended abruptly on February 28th, 2026, as the US attacks on Iran commenced . Container lines did not see a US- Iran war as a baseline scenario. In the two months prior to the war, they had been increasing services through the Red Sea – an action they would not have taken had they anticipated the new war. Closure of the Strait of Hormuz reshapes shipping networks Following the outbreak of the war, Maersk, Hapag- Lloyd, and CMA CGM immediately changed their Suez - routings and redirected services around Africa. For Maersk and Hapag - Lloyd this was a reversal of a newly made decision, but in the case of CMA - CGM this was a reversal of a decision made a year prior. Therefore, in relation to the Red Sea, the clock is turned back more than a year. Smaller niche carriers continue to operate through the Red Sea. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is firmer than the closure of the Red Sea. More than 14 vessels, hereof 2 container vessels, have been attacked by Iranian drones and missiles and we have seen multiple casualties on attacked vessels. Consequently, no co ntainer vessels are presently crossing the Strait of Hormuz. This has forced container carriers to declare “End of Voyage” for cargo onboard vessels to the Persian Gulf. The approach varies slightly depending on carrier with some simply discharging cargo at the next safe port of call and others being open for a change of destination by the shipper to an alternate port. But all these actions come with a fee for the shippers as well as a shift of responsibility for the cargo back to the shipper in the new port of discharge irrespective of where that might be. Impact on global supply chains The longer the closure lasts, the more we will begin to see ripple effects. The first ripple will increase port congestion in key hubs in the Middle East region where stranded cargo to the Gulf will be discharged. This can then spread to transshipment hubs throughout Asia, delaying cargo on other services unrelated to the Middle East. As long as the Strait of Hormuz is closed, seaborne cargo to the Gulf can only be moved in via ports on the south coast of Oman or the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia and then moved overland by truck. For the niche carriers in the region, cargo can be sent f rom Far East into Red Sea directly, but for the global
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