The war in the Persian Gulf is disrupting supply chains, and the costs are weighing on cargo owners, ports, and shippers.
As of March 11, three commercial container vessels were struck by missiles or drones in Gulf waters within days of each other. These incidents included a Thai-flagged vessel that was hit 11 nautical miles north of Oman, a Japanese vessel that struck off the coast of the UAE, and a third vessel targeted northwest of Dubai. And they weren’t near misses or accidents; most were hit directly. This has changed how logistics works in the region.
The industry has responded quickly, though cargo owners have been disoriented. Major container ship operators terminated their contracts, offloaded their legal obligations, and dropped containers at the nearest safe port. However, “the nearest available port” is a loosely applied concept. Because operators make unilateral decisions about where goods land, there is little transparency or logic behind their choices. Cargo owners are now finding their shipments stranded in ports they never contracted for.
Ports in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE have suspended operations entirely, while others are working with significant delays. Although the global port network remains open, it is currently absorbing a surge of redirected traffic that has led to congestion and vessel bunching at major hubs like Singapore and Rotterdam. This phenomenon, where ships must queue because ports cannot process arrivals fast enough, has created a prominent side effect characterised by rising labour costs, lower unloading speeds, and significant strains on storage capacity.
Cargo owners will bear the brunt of this catastrophe in the coming days. Goods are sitting exposed at ports without adequate storage infrastructure and are vulnerable to loss and damage.
Recovering these losses depends on the contracts that were signed between shippers and vessel owners, though they vary from company to company and contract to contract. Delay-related losses are usually excluded under the standard Institute Cargo Clauses (A), meaning the cargo policy simply will not pay out.
In addition to cargo owners, ports and terminals face significant hardships as congestion-related incidents become increasingly common and insurance coverage remains dependent on regional policies.
Consequently, businesses moving goods through Gulf waters must review their contracts, stress test their insurance coverage, and prepare for persistent delays and rerouting for the duration of the conflict.