Market Pulse 2026 Week 09

The sudden closure of the Strait of Hormuz following the escalation of the conflict in Iran over the weekend will affect 650,000 teu of weekly container traffic handled at Persian Gulf ports. Although these account for only 3.3% of total global throughput, the disruptions arising from the reconfiguration of the Hormuz related services would affect up to 10% of the global fleet. Increased port congestion, tightening vessel supply and container equipment shortages would push up both freight rates and charter rates in the short term, with Chinese freight futures surging on expectations of rate hikes that could persist through the summer, reversing its recent weak run after the SCFIS slipped to its 7th consecutive weekly decline. Linerlytica has added a Hormuz disruption tracker to quantify the impact on global vessel supply.

Earlier plans by Maersk and CMA CGM to make an early return to the Suez have been thwarted with both carriers redirecting their Suez bound ships back to the Cape route. Bookings to the Middle East have been suspended or placed on hold with no clear indication of when they can resume.

Prolonged closure of Strait of Hormuz could snag 10% of containership fleet
As at 2 March 2026, there are 132 active containerships with a combined capacity 458,000 teu that are trapped in the Persian Gulf, accounting for 1.4% of the global fleet. They form part of the 3.4m teu in total capacity that are operated on the routes passing the Strait of Hormuz or 10% of the global fleet. A prolonged closure of the Hormuz would lead to a reconfiguration of these services and result in a short term tightening in vessel supply and box equipment as well as increased congestion at Asian ports.