Strait of Hormuz traffic plummets amid fears of new Iranian attacks
About 1,000 vessels carrying roughly 20,000 crew members are unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz amid fears of Iranian attacks, cutting traffic by nearly 90%.
The International Maritime Organization says many of the ships are idling near the narrow waterway, while 2,474 vessels, including 178 oil tankers, have remained in the Gulf waters since March 5.
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez expressed “grave concern” after recent attacks killed at least seven seafarers and called on operators to exercise “maximum caution.”
Roughly 20% of the world’s oil is transported through the Strait of Hormuz.
Shipping insurers threaten to cancel policies after Iran strikes
Insurance companies are telling ship owners they may cancel policies and raise coverage prices as much as 50% for vessels traveling through the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times reports.
Cargo war risk insurers – which cover commodities carried on tankers, such as grain and oil – said that they were preparing to cancel policies and renegotiate coverage at higher prices, rather than denying coverage for ships sailing into the region, the newspaper said.
Danish container shipping line Maersk, meanwhile, halted sailings through the Suez Canal and Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, citing escalating regional security risks.
The move is expected to lengthen shipping times and raise freight costs.
