US blockade on Iranian ports unlikely to impact container traffic through Strait of Hormuz<\/p>\n
US president Donald Trump on Sunday ordered a military blockade of Iranian ports, increasing the tension around the Strait of Hormuz, but shipping market intelligence firm Linerlytica expects the impact on container shipping to be negligible.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz starting from 13 April will further escalate the current tensions but the impact on the container shipping market is negligible as vessel traffic has been largely limited to Iranian linked ships over the past six weeks with just four outbound passages made by neutral operators since the war started on 28 February,\u201d Linerlytica said.<\/p>\n
Outside of the Middle East, container freight rates have corrected from their initial post-war peaks due to the lack of any space or equipment shortages, and cargo demand is starting to weaken given the macro-economic uncertainties that the war has brought, Linerlytica said.<\/p>\n
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.<\/p>\n
\u201cCENTCOM forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
Lars Jensen, president of consultant Vespucci Maritime, said that if done in this way it would affect about half the vessels which transited the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours or are presently in the process of doing so.<\/p>\n
Jensen also said there could be some impact as ports in Gulf of Oman are a key entry location for overland cargo connections to the Gulf countries.<\/p>\n
According to the Strait of Hormuz tracker, a free, real-time dashboard that tracks the ongoing crisis using AI-powered analysis of current strait conditions, insurance markets and diplomatic developments using real-time web data and AIS data for vessel positions, only three vessels have transited the Strait over the past 24 hours.<\/p>\n
Jensen said that a few, but not all, of Iranian flagged vessels have stopped broadcasting their destination port on AIS (automatic identification system). Instead, they simply state the destination as \u201cPGPORTS\u201d.<\/p>\n
Jensen said Iran has threatened to attack ports in the Persian Gulf as well as Gulf of Oman if the US enforces the announced blockade.<\/p>\n
Should this be the case it would be problematic as ports in Gulf of Oman are a key entry location for overland cargo connections to the Gulf countries,\u201d Jensen said.<\/p>\n
CENTCOM said in a social media post on Tuesday that no ships made it past the US blockade and that six merchant vessels complied with directions from US authorities to turn around and reenter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman.<\/p>\n
Typical traffic through the Strait was about 60 vessels per 24-hour period prior to the war.<\/p>\n
The closure has had less of an impact on container shipping as less than 2% of global container capacity passes through the straight annually. However, the closure has had a much greater impact on crude oil and chemical markets as around one-third of global seaborne crude flows and up to 20% of the world\u2019s total oil flows pass through.<\/p>\n
Container ships and costs for shipping containers are relevant to the chemical industry because while most chemicals are liquids and are shipped in tankers, container ships transport polymers, such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), are shipped in pellets. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is also shipped in containers.<\/p>\n
They also transport liquid chemicals in isotanks.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.icis.com\/explore\/resources\/news\/2026\/04\/14\/11197759\/us-blockade-on-iranian-ports-unlikely-to-impact-container-traffic-through-strait-of-hormuz\/<\/p>\n
hellenicshippingnews…<\/p>\n