IMPACT OF THE SITUATION IN THE STRAIT OF HORMUG ON CONTAINER TRANSPORT IN GLOBAL TRADE IN TERMS OF TURBULENCE AND SECURITY THREATS

Анотація

The authors examine the economic security dimension of the events that triggered the turbulent reaction of events that brought the transit situation in the Strait of Hormuz to the forefront of the world agenda. The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow sea passage about 33 kilometers wide, connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, has long been considered one of the most important transport hubs on the planet. It is through this corridor that colossal volumes of oil, liquefied natural gas, fertilizers and industrial goods pass daily, making it a real “jugular vein” of world trade. Since February 28, 2026, joint military strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran have partially closed the strait to international shipping and Iranian attacks on merchant ships that tried to pass through this corridor have been hit. Enormous volumes of oil, liquefied natural gas, fertilizers and industrial goods, containers pass through the corridor every day, making it globally strategic. This crisis has proven to be qualitatively different from previous non-threatening threats in the region. While the Red Sea, engulfed by Houthi attacks since late 2023, had alternative traffic through the Cape of Good Hope, the Strait of Hormuz is the only sea outlet from the Persian Gulf. Iran has repeatedly threatened to “close” the strait in response to international pressure, but analysts have traditionally considered this unlikely due to the huge economic losses for Iran itself. The turbulence of 2026 showed that these calculations did not take into account Іran’s willingness to resort to radical measures in the face of what it considered an existential threat. The geographical feature of the strait is fundamentally important: it has no bypass route of equal scale. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have oil pipelines that theoretically allow them to bypass the strait, but their capacity – from 3.5 to 5.5 million barrels per day – is only a partial alternative. As for container cargo, there is practically no bypass. Its blockade means not a slowdown, but a complete stoppage of cargo flows for the region's ports. A few days later, ship traffic practically stopped: more than 150 tankers anchored outside the strait, and leading container carriers MSC, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM officially suspended transits.

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