Strait of Hormuz shock
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has collapsed—tanker transits are down roughly 70% after Iranian mining, forcing companies into costly reroutes and worsening delays across sea and air freight. The result: soaring shipping costs, new fuel surcharges and an immediate squeeze on Asia–Europe and Asia–Africa lead times and margins. (tridge.com)
Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag‑Lloyd and MSC have suspended regular transits through the Strait and are diverting box and tanker services around the Cape of Good Hope, forcing longer voyages for major Asia–Europe and Asia–Africa strings. (marinelink.com)) Iran’s Revolutionary Guard publicly declared the Strait closed on March 2, and industry trackers reported roughly 150 tankers anchored or sheltering in Gulf waters within days of that announcement. (maritimenews.com)) U.S. Central Command reported sinking multiple Iranian mine‑laying vessels — including 16 minelayers — after intelligence warnings that Iran was preparing to deploy mines across Hormuz. (cnbc.com)) Rerouting via the Cape is extending Suez‑dependent sailings by about 10–15 days, with freight rates on some India trade lanes rising 30–50% and air freight into the region jumping as much as 300% where ocean capacity has been curtailed. (gcca.org)) Major P&I clubs moved to cancel war‑risk cover for Persian Gulf transits effective in early March, and carriers have begun stacking war‑risk surcharges (Hapag‑Lloyd announced a WRS; MSC published USD 2,000/20ft–USD 4,000/reefer rates) while Maersk introduced an emergency bunker surcharge. (bloomberg.com)) Brent futures briefly traded within a whisker of $120/barrel amid the disruption before settling lower, with the IEA and market data showing oil benchmarks up roughly $20–40/bbl month‑on‑month as flows through Middle East chokepoints tightened. (iea.org))
