Hapag-Lloyd warns of ‘new normal’ in Strait of Hormuz amid US-Iran strikes
Ceasefire between USA and Iran is being tested
Fox News host Shannon Bream covers the escalating conflict in the Middle East, reporting from Tel Aviv’s Trey Yingst. After Iran targeted ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the USA launched an attack on Iran’s missile and unmanned aerial vehicle warehouses. Additionally, Iran launched drones into Kuwait and Bahrain, while Israel launched attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon. These events coincide with the diplomatic framework agreement signed between Israel and Lebanon.
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Shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd warned on Sunday that a “new normal” of increased risk and unclear regulation was affecting the Strait of Hormuz as military strikes and conflicting routing directives plunged the waterway into operational chaos.
Statements made by German shipping giant The incident also came as Tehran began moving millions of barrels of crude oil “simultaneously” from Kharg Island for the first time in days, according to maritime intelligence firm Windward AI.
Windward AI said in a post on
The outbound cargo consists of an estimated 4.12 million barrels of wet cargo, including crude oil and other liquid hydrocarbons. About 3.91 million barrels of that total was crude oil, analytics firm Vortexa said.
AS GULF MARITIME OPERATIONS ARE ABOUT TO STOP NEAR IRAN, THE USA IS QUIETLY PREPARING FOR A POSSIBLE STRIKE: ‘INCREASED RISK’
Commercial cargo ships and crude oil tankers have anchored in the Gulf of Oman off Oman’s coast of Muscat as they prepare to transit the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global trade corridor. (Shaded Alassar/Anatolia)
“We must accept that this is the new normal in the Persian Gulf region for several months.” Hapag-Lloyd AG Spokesperson Hanja Maria Richter told Fox News Digital.
“The situation has been fluid for us since the beginning of the conflict,” he said, before adding that constant vigilance had become essential to operating in the region.
“We have been and continue to carry out regular risk and situation assessments with our security partners, all relevant authorities and our employees on shore and of course on ships,” Richter said. he said.
“This is a conflict-ridden area, so we take that into account with every ship we operate in the area and assess the risks for each ship and its crew individually.”
IRAN LAUNCHED ‘NON-DISCRIMINATION’ ATTACKS IN THE GULF OF OMAN AND HIT THE REGIME SHADOW TANKER
According to U.S. Central Command, the USS George HW Bush is transiting the Arabian Sea at a time when U.S. forces are implementing a naval blockade against Iran and supporting the Freedom Project in the Strait of Hormuz. (CENTCOM)
Richter’s remarks came as US Central Command (CENTCOM) launched airstrikes on Iranian targets, including Qeshm Island, after a ship was hit in the strait on June 26.
This led Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to retaliate by targeting US military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain.
Adding to the risk of strikes are conflicts over control of transit lanes.
Lloyd’s List He described the breach of the waterway as “a confused, two-tier system currently operating in the strait, divided between the Iranian-controlled northern route and the US-protected southern ‘highway’, with pre-war routes rendered unusable due to the mine risk separating them.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister said that according to the latest agreements, Iran is responsible for managing and fully reopening maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. Abbas Araghchi he said on Sunday, according to Iran International.
EXPERTS WANT THEM TO BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL ABOUT IRAN’S ‘CROWN JEWEL’: HIZBOL – A TERROR GROUP WITH US BLOOD ON HIS HANDS.
The ships anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran on May 4. A report dated May 15 stated that a ship was seized off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and brought into Iranian waters. (Amirhossein Khorgooei/ISNA/AFP via Getty Images)
Iranian state television said passage through the Strait of Hormuz required coordination with the Revolutionary Guard.
Hapag-Lloyd has opposed any future attempts to weaponize or monetize transit through the critical global chokepoint.
“It would be fundamentally wrong to charge fees for passage through international waters,” Richter said.
“Infrastructure charges such as the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal are a different matter as they reflect large infrastructure investments. This is not the case for the Strait of Hormuz.”
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While thousands of crew members were stuck due to conflicting maritime directives, Hapag-Lloyd said it had successfully overcome the initial bottleneck.
“The good news is that we were able to ensure the safe departure from the Gulf of all Hapag-Lloyd ships that were affected by the temporary closure of the Strait of Hormuz and were waiting in the Persian Gulf,” Richter said. Richter added, “The safety of our crews is our top priority.”
