A RAPID pullback of container vessels from the Strait of Hormuz has marked the most visible early rupture to Middle East Gulf‑bound liner trades as carriers move decisively to shield boxship fleets from the escalating regional security crisis. At the same time, vehicle carriers engaged in long-haul liner services are also being affected by the crisis.

Since Saturday, vessels able to exit have cleared the strait, while those trapped inside the Middle East Gulf have taken shelter in nearby ports and anchorages.

Carriers moved quickly to alert customers and halt exposure. Mediterranean Shipping Company, Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM announced service suspensions on the day of the initial Israeli and US strikes, with further operators following over the weekend. MSC has also stopped taking Middle East bookings until further notice.

Maersk, which announced late last week that it was to reroute some services around the Cape of Good Hope, has now paused all Red Sea transits, citing the worsening security environment. It has also suspended all vessel crossings of the Strait of Hormuz indefinitely.

“As a result, services calling ports in the Arabian Gulf may experience delays, rerouting, or schedule adjustments,” the Danish carrier said.

China’s liner giant Cosco Shipping offered a similar advisory.

“Vessels that have already entered the Gulf, after completing the operations where safe to do so, have been instructed to proceed to safe waters to hover or anchor.”

Japanese container shipping group Ocean Network Express has also informed customers of a temporary suspension of bookings to and from the Middle East Gulf.

“With immediate effect, ONE will temporarily suspend acceptance of new bookings for cargo moving both to and from the Middle East Gulf until further notice,” it said.

“For cargo currently in transit or planned shipments, we are closely assessing the situation voyage by voyage.”

Congestion and rate shocks loom

With carriers pulling tonnage and cancelling services to the Middle East Gulf, analysts are warning of significant trade disruption to box trade as the situation unfolds.

This includes Vespucci Maritime chief executive Lars Jensen, who said that Gulf-bound cargo will likely discharge in ports such as Salalah, Khor Fakkan, Sohar, Duqm and as far away as Colombo.

Similar to the initial fallout of the Red Sea crisis he expected smaller carriers willing to run the risk of transiting to the region to run the final leg, Jensen said in a LinkedIn post.

“This will create port congestion problems in the mentioned ports, but will also eventually result in congestion problems further out in Asia as carriers at some point will cease loading cargo to the Gulf if they are unsure it can go the final destination.

“We risk seeing Singapore, Tanjung Pelepas and Port Klang become transhipment bottlenecks for cargo which otherwise would be sent directly to the Gulf.”

This, he said, will result in rapidly rising spot rates for cargo to the Middle East Gulf area.

On Sunday, as reported by Lloyd’s List, carriers have indeed begun adding war risk premiums to boxes bound for the Gulf.

However, Jensen also warned that shippers should prepare of a “ripple effect” of rising spot rates in the coming days on other deepsea trades.

BIMCO chief analyst Niels Rasmussen echoed Jensen concerns, noting that ports receiving diverted cargo may face longer vessel stays, higher terminal densities and slower operations.

“Should that happen, we may see congestion building around the ports,” he said.

Rasmussen added that container trades serving the region, often combined with Indian Subcontinent services, would lose significant volumes normally bound for the Gulf. This could push rates down on those services and potentially lead to entire loops being suspended until full passage through the strait is restored.

Hormuz exodus

Since Saturday, the exodus of tonnage form the Strait of Hormuz has been clear to see.

Numerous containerships have reversed course from either entering or exiting the Strait of Hormuz following the start of hostilities.

Lloyd’s List Intelligence’s Seasearcher platform showed 11 containerships heading westbound through the Strait of Hormuz across the weekend to relative safety.

Those unable to make a last minute dash from the region have been forced to stay put.

On Monday afternoon, Lloyd’s List Intelligence showed 97 containerships still inside the Strait of Hormuz, most of them sheltering at ports or designated anchorages. More than a dozen are large deepsea vessels in the neopanamax class and above, serving mainline Middle East Gulf trades.

Cosco has two such ships sheltering in the region, CSCL Indian Ocean (IMO: 9695157) and CSCL Arctic Ocean (IMO: 9695169), which are currently in the ports of Abu Dhabi and Dammam, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence vessel-tracking.

CMA CGM has as many as 14 of its ships operating east of Hormuz. The French carrier’s ships are currently harbouring at berth or are anchored outside ports, including in the Qatari capital Doha and in Abu Dhabi.

Three ULCs, namely Haiphong Express (IMO: 9778129), HMM Daon (IMO: 9869227) and Express Rome (IMO: 9484936), are also currently taking refuge in the port of Jebel Ali, Dubai, where the Dubai Media Office reported a fire at one of the port’s berths on Sunday caused by debris falling after an “aerial interception”. Dubai is one of several ports in the region that have ceased operations in light of the conflict. 

Over the weekend, boxship traffic also emptied out of the Red Sea, with the worsening Middle East Gulf crisis halting any prospect of a gradual return to traditional east-west routings. Key carriers, including Maersk, CMA CGM and MSC, have told customers their services will continue to divert around the Cape of Good Hope for the foreseeable future.

On Monday, Lloyd’s List Intelligence vessel-tracking showed ultra-large containership capacity almost completely dispersed from the region, with Maersk Hanoi (IMO: 9784295) the sole representative heading northbound for the Suez with its AIS transmission noting Tanger Med, Morocco, as its next destination. CMA CGM Monte Cristo (IMO: 1021051) is currently the only ULC traversing the Suez Canal, also heading northbound.

Sixteen car carriers now positioned across Middle East Gulf ports and anchorages

Meanwhile, a total of 16 long-haul vehicle carriers are currently in the Gulf which operate for a variety of leading operators.

At least four of the pure car and truck carriers are alongside at ro-ro terminals while another is at anchor, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data.

All PCTCs positioned within the Middle East Gulf operate on regular liner services between the Middle East and Asia, with the majority having arrived with cars from China, Japan and South Korea.                 

They include a pair of vessels owned by Italy’s Grimaldi Group, with capacities of 7,000 ceu and 9,000 ceu respectively, and three ships for Japan’s NYK Line of between 6,000 ceu and 7,000 ceu.

Furthermore, two vessels operating for Chinese vehicle manufacturer SAIC Motor Corp are in the Gulf area, together with one PCTC operated by Cosco.

World’s largest operator Wallenius Wilhelmsen has one ship presently berthed in Qatar, which is operated by its South Korean subsidiary EUKOR Car Carriers.

“We have one vessel in the Persian Gulf area. The vessel and crew are safe,” a Wallenius Wilhelmsen spokesperson told Lloyd’s List.  

They added; “We are continuously coordinating with relevant stakeholders and monitoring the situation to ensure the crew and vessel’s safety. Our top priority is keeping our people across the affected region safe.”

Wallenius Wilhelmsen does not have any further PCTCs scheduled to arrive in the area until the end of March.

Fifth-largest operator Höegh Autoliners has one 7,800 ceu vessel bound for the Gulf from the US east coast via the Cape of Good Hope, which appears to be now slow steaming in the Indian Ocean.

Commenting on its vessel originally due to transit Strait of Hormuz later this week, Höegh Autoliners chief operating officer Sebjørn Dahl said; “We are closely monitoring the situation and do not operate our vessels in areas assessed as unsafe.”