The escalation of the Iran-Israel conflict in the Middle East has sparked fears of a potential disruption to vessel traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. The impact on the container markets will be far less severe compared to the tanker and LNG markets, as the Middle East Gulf is mostly an import market with very little exports of any strategic importance that are shipped in containers. Middle East Gulf ports located north of the Strait of Hormuz handled a total of 29m teu of containers in 2023, acc
The seizure of the 14,952 teu MSC ARIES by Iranian special forces on 13 April 2024 off Fujairah has placed heightened risks on Israeli-linked containerships trading in the Strait of Hormuz. However, the Israeli owned fleet accounts for less than 2% of all containerships in the Persian Gulf and their redeployment to other routes is not expected to cause significant disruptions to the trade, barring a full blockade of the Strait of Hormuz if the Israeli conflict escalates. Out of over 500 contain
Carriers have retained their services to Israel and are continuing to accept bookings with the Israeli ports of Haifa and Ashdod remaining open through the week with only minor congestion issues reported due to increased security checks and labour shortages. Congestion in the rest of the Med region also appears to be under control with no vessel build up recorded. Global congestion has continued to ease with only minor delays reports in several hotspots, with Savannah continuing to see the wor
Israeli ports have come under the spotlight following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war over the weekend. The 2 main Israeli ports of Ashdod and Haifa that handle over 3.1m teu of container cargo annually have continued cargo operations through the weekend despite the military operations at Gaza. The situation remains fluid after Israel formally declared war for the first time since 1973 but the impact on the container shipping market is limited for now. So far no major congestion hotspots
Zim will join MSC on the North Europe-Israel trade by contributing two out of the 5 ships on the revised Zim North Europe Israel (ZNI)/Israel Express service from the end of August 2023. The service will call at Ashdod, Haifa, Damietta, Valencia, London Gateway, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp, Le Havre, Ashdod with the 7,403 teu KURE, 6,724 teu MSC LORETTA from MSC 5,550 teu MSC VIGO that will be joined by the 6,881 teu ZIM ALABAMA and 6,644 teu ZIM VIETNAM. This is the 3rd trade in which Zim and