8 containerships were able to break out of the Hormuz on 18 April, but the exit path has been shut once again aas Iran turned back 4 CMA CGM ships and vowed to retaliate after the US seized the IRISL operated 5,125 teu TOUSKA on 20 April that was making an inbound voyage from Port Klang to Iran. The US blockade on Iranian ports have made little difference thus far, with at least 7 Iranian linked ships able to bypass the blockade in the last week alone.
Apart from the rising fuel costs, the impact of the Hormuz shutdown on the overall container market is already starting to wear off. Freight rates have started to stabilize and rates on several routes have already come off their recent peaks as capacity and equipment availability remains sufficient to meet demand. On the Asia-Europe route, rates have softened with capacity utilization already dropping. Charter rates have however continued to rally, with several carriers still seeking additional tonnage especially on the Middle East routes.
Johnson Leung
6 MSC ships escape Hormuz blockade
MSC has managed to send up to 6 of their stranded ships out of Strait of Hormuz on 18 April, including the 19,224 teu MSC CLARA that was the largest containership in the Persian Gulf when the Iran war started. These ships moved in stealth mode with their AIS transponders switched off as they neared the Hormuz and only resumed transmission once they were safely out of the Arabian Sea. The MSC CLARA as well as the 16,000 teu MSC GRACE, 13,102 teu MSC MARGRIT XIII and 9,200 teu MSC MADELEINE have already resumed transmitting AIS signals, while the 11,660 teu MSC FRANCESCA and 6,673 teu EPAMINONDAS are currently still switched off with their positions still to be verified.
The successful exits of these MSC ships, along with 2 smaller ships – the 1,030 teu BHAGYA LAXMI and 2,702 teu SSF VALENCE that made it out over the weekend have brought down the total number of containerships stranded in the Persian Gulf to less than 100 units with a total capacity of 270,000 teu, compared to a peak of 430,000 teu.
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