Middle East tensions force global shipping to reroute around Africa
Risks to commercial shipping have surged in the past 24 hours, with more than 200 vessels, including oil and liquefied gas tankers, dropping anchor.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
Vessel casualties
At least three tankers were damaged off the Gulf coast, and one seafarer was killed as Iranian retaliation for U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran exposed ships to collateral damage, shipping sources and officials told Reuters News Agency.
Risks to commercial shipping have surged in the past 24 hours, with more than 200 vessels, including oil and liquefied gas tankers, dropping anchor around the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters, shipping data showed on Sunday.
Major container shipping lines have rerouted around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, the southern tip of the Cape Peninsula.
It was not immediately clear who launched the projectiles and drones that targeted or damaged ships on Sunday.
U.S. President Donald Trump said meanwhile that the United States had destroyed nine Iranian navy ships and pummelled Iran's naval headquarters.
Hundreds of vessels have halted or dropped anchor.
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.