THE largest global organization for shipowners, charterers, shipbrokers, and agents, BIMCO, is warning that while it is still unclear how Iran will respond to last Saturday's US attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, the threat to commercial shipping in the waters around the Arabian Peninsula has risen.
"The Houthi threat against shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has also gone up," said Jakob Larsen, head of security at BIMCO. "The Houthis now threaten merchant ships with affiliation to Israel or the US, but attacks against merchant ships with other affiliations cannot be ruled out."
Mr Larsen said it is expected that US warships and merchant ships affiliated with Israel, or the US would be the preferred targets for the Iranians, reports CNBC.
In an email to CNBC, a Hapag Lloyd spokesperson stated: "We currently are still crossing the Street of Hormuz. Alert level is high, though, and things might change by the hour."
Integrated logistics provider Maersk announced last Friday it is temporarily suspending port calls to Israel's largest container port, Haifa.
Mr Larsen warned Iran could attempt a wider disruption of commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz through attacks on merchant ships. Antiship missiles or drones of both airborne and surface types could be used in these attacks, he said.
"The laying of sea mines would constitute another dangerous development, but Iran's intent to do so is questionable due to the risk to Iran-affiliated commercial ships and the risk of environmental disaster in case a ship is damaged," said Mr Larsen.
The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea, is recognized as one of the world's most important oil chokepoints. The inability of oil to traverse through the Strait of Hormuz, even temporarily, can ratchet up global energy prices, raise shipping costs and create significant supply delays.
"Given the Iranian threat to US military bases in the region, availability of warships for protection of commercial shipping is probably limited, especially for commercial ships with no affiliation to the US or Israel," Mr Larsen said.
The Strait of Hormuz handles less than 4 per cent of global container trade but the ports of Jebel Ali and Khor Fakkan are critical intermediary points for global shipping networks in the region.
The majority of cargo volumes from those ports are destined for Dubai, which has become a hub for the movement of freight with feeder services in the Persian Gulf, South Asia, and East Africa.
Even before the US strikes on Saturday, the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran had sparked ocean freight rates to surge this week from Shanghai to Jebel Ali, the Arabian Gulf's largest port.
In light of the latest wave of defence measures, BIMCO is encouraging shipowners to review their security risk assessments and carefully consider mitigation measures.
https://www.shippingazette.com/news?news_id=9250600000699
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