At the recent TPM conference held in Long Beach, Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of the German shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd, revealed that due to the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, several of the company's vessels are trapped in the Persian Gulf and unable to leave, putting about 50,000 TEUs of cargo at risk. He said that the company is striving to find unloading space to unload cargo destined for the Gulf region to prevent all of it from being stranded on board. Currently, Hapag-Lloyd is still receiving and loading cargo for the region, but its receiving capacity is approaching its limit and it may decide whether to implement booking restrictions within a few days.

Jansen stated that the current hostilities have limited impact on operations outside the Persian Gulf, but he refuted the notion that "route chaos is beneficial to the shipping industry," emphasizing that the losses caused by crew being stranded, rising oil prices, and unstable operations far outweigh the benefits. He also said that this escalation of the situation has once again disrupted the company's plan to return to the Suez Canal.

Source: ChuHai.com