Maersk Continues Avoiding Strait of Hormuz, Reinforcing Cape Route’s Strategic Importance

Maersk, the world’s second-largest container shipping company, said it will continue avoiding transit through the Strait of Hormuz amid ongoing regional tensions, a move that is further strengthening reliance on the Cape of Good Hope shipping route and increasing Africa’s importance in global trade and marine fuel networks.

In its latest Middle East operational advisory, Maersk said the regional security environment remains “highly volatile” and “rapidly evolving,” adding that full navigational certainty has not yet returned despite ongoing ceasefire efforts between the United States and Iran.

“Volatility persists,” the company said. “In coordination with our security partners, we currently see a continued need to avoid transit through the strait.”

Maersk operates a fleet of around 675 vessels across 130 countries and transports goods valued at approximately $675 billion annually. The company said any future decision to resume Hormuz crossings would depend on ongoing security assessments and guidance from authorities and industry partners.

The position extends a broader operational shift that began earlier this year following escalating military tensions in the Middle East and disruptions to key maritime corridors.

In March, Maersk temporarily suspended future voyages through the Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait due to worsening security conditions linked to the U.S.-Iran conflict and attacks by the Houthis on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

The company subsequently rerouted services around the Cape of Good Hope while maintaining its suspension of Hormuz transits until further notice. Although Maersk had previously announced a gradual return of some services to the Suez route after nearly two years of disruptions, renewed tensions involving Iran have once again pushed major shipping operators toward southern African routes.

According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, approximately 9.1 million barrels per day of crude oil and petroleum products are currently moving around the Cape of Good Hope, representing about 11% of global seaborne oil trade. More than 40% of those shipments are reportedly destined for China.

Marine fuel suppliers along African coastlines are also seeing a sharp rise in demand as vessels increasingly avoid the Suez Canal and Red Sea routes. The Cape Town Chamber of Commerce and Industry said ship diversions around the Cape of Good Hope had surged 112% by early March.

Bhavan Vempati, head of Asia ocean markets at Maersk, said that after nearly two years of operating under disrupted conditions, it is becoming difficult to describe the current arrangements as temporary. “Rather, this has become an adaptation to a new operational reality,” he said.

Despite ongoing international efforts to restore freedom of navigation in Middle Eastern waters, major shipping companies remain cautious about returning to traditional regional routes without stronger security guarantees and clearer assurances regarding mine clearance and maritime safety.

Maersk has also suspended certain ocean freight bookings linked to several Gulf markets, including Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and parts of the United Arab Emirates, while expanding alternative logistics corridors through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman, and the UAE.

The latest developments underscore how Africa is increasingly shifting from a temporary detour into a strategically vital logistics and maritime hub within the evolving global shipping network.