Market Pulse 2026 Week 14

The Middle East tensions have claimed its first casualties, with the first containership sunk in the Persian Gulf 4 weeks after it was struck by Iranian missiles while SeaLead was forced to scale back its operations after its main Middle East service was incapacitated by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic remain mostly closed in the Hormuz, with the 5,466 teu CMA CGM KRIBI the only non-Iranian linked ship to make it out last week. There are still 45 ships for 275,000 teu that are seeking safe passage out of the Hormuz, out of a total of 121 containerships with a total capacity of 405,000 teu currently in the Persian Gulf, with the rest being Iranian-linked ships or ships deployed on intra-Gulf services.

Freight rates are settling down in a holding pattern as carrier focus on recovering the increased bunker costs, while freight futures are cooling after their initial exuberance as it becomes clear that the Hormuz blockade has not had a detrimental impact on overall vessel and equipment availability globally while port congestion has been largely contained in the Arabian Gulf and Indian subcontinent.

SeaLead streamlines operations as Middle East tensions worsen
SeaLead is scaling down its operated fleet as it streamlines its global services amidst office closures and staff retrenchments. It also faces a US Civil Forfeiture for $2.4m where the Department of Justice alleged in a lawsuit filed on 6 March 2026 that SeaLead provided shipping services to Iranian interests. US sanctions against Iranian linked vessels announced on 30 July 2025 had already forced SeaLead to redeliver 16 sanctioned ships last year, and it has continued to redeliver more chartered ships in the last few months as the total capacity operated by SeaLead fell from a peak of 208,000 teu in May 2025 to 62,000 teu currently, with more ships due to be redelivered in the next 2 months. MSC has already scooped up the largest ships leaving the SeaLead fleet, ensuring minimal market disruptions from the ships displaced with several carriers also eyeing the remaining ships still left in its rapidly depleting fleet.