Global Lines Reroute Around Middle East as Conflict Shuts Key Shipping Arteries

The world’s biggest container carriers are radically reworking sailing schedules to steer clear of the conflict-hit Middle East, raising costs and transit times on some of the world’s busiest trade lanes.

Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd and other majors have started cancelling bookings to Gulf ports, dropping port calls, rerouting via the Cape of Good Hope instead of Suez, and warning customers of delays and new surcharges as the US–Israel conflict with Iran threatens traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Persian Gulf corridor.

Some carriers have ordered ships already in the Gulf to seek shelter, while others are holding vessels at a safe distance pending clearer security guidance, disrupting supply chains for US and European manufacturers that rely on Gulf hubs for components and finished goods.

The rerouting adds thousands of nautical miles to Asia–Europe and transhipment services, tightening effective capacity and pushing up bunker consumption, war-risk premiums and freight rates at a time when shippers are still adjusting to earlier Red Sea diversions.