South Africa vows safety of rerouted ships amid Middle East conflict
Major container shipping lines have rerouted around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, the southern tip of the Cape Peninsula.
The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) says it will provide services to ensure secure and efficient passage of all ships as it closely observes developments in the Middle East and potential impact on global shipping routes.
The escalating conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran has disrupted one of the world’s busiest maritime corridors, forcing major shipping companies to reroute vessels around Africa.
SAMSA CEO, Dennis Mqadi, says it is equipped to support all vessels choosing to navigate past South Africa’s coastline with navigational guidance, maritime domain awareness updates, and safety information.
Global carriers, including Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, and CMA CGM, have suspended transits through the Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and heightened security risks around the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait, a narrow channel between Iran and Oman, is a key gateway for oil, gas, and cargo shipments from the Gulf.
Risk to ships
“Due to the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East region following the escalating military conflict, we have decided to pause future Trans-Suez sailings through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait for the time being,” Maersk said in a statement last week.
Under normal conditions, ships travelling from Asia and the Middle East to Europe pass through the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman — before crossing the Arabian Sea and entering the Red Sea via the Bab el-Mandeb, which lies between Yemen and Djibouti.
Vessels then transit north through the Suez Canal in Egypt into the Mediterranean Sea en route to European ports such as those in Italy, Greece and Spain.
With that route now considered unsafe, vessels must sail south across the Indian Ocean, down Africa’s east coast, round the Cape of Good Hope, and head north through the Atlantic to reach Europe. The detour adds several thousand kilometres and can extend voyages by up to two weeks.