This week saw a much anticipated but extremely precarious shift in the Middle East shipping problem. Although there has been a brief ceasefire that has opened up the Strait of Hormuz again for shipping, the fact remains that access is very limited at this point.
Weekly Ocean Freight Update – Week of April 10, 2026
This week saw a much anticipated but extremely precarious shift in the Middle East shipping problem. Although there has been a brief ceasefire that has opened up the Strait of Hormuz again for shipping, the fact remains that access is very limited at this point.
The Hormuz Ceasefire & A Cautious Trickle
An unstable two-week ceasefire was declared this week in order to reopen the vital strategic Strait of Hormuz. Nonetheless, the strait remains largely closed. According to the new arrangement, only a maximum number of 15 ships is allowed to sail daily. Preliminary reports from ship trackers have shown excessive caution, as there are no more than 10 merchant vessels sailing through the strait during the first few days after the cessation of hostilities.
The small amount of passage has done little to ease the pressure, as there are still around 800 ships and 20,000 mariners trapped inside the Gulf, waiting for their safe exit or passage. In light of the ongoing threats of piracy and sea mines, global shipping companies continue to be extremely doubtful of the route. For example, Hapag-Lloyd stated unequivocally that it would refrain from using the route regardless of the temporary ceasefire.
Supply Chain Workarounds in the Gulf
With the primary maritime gateway heavily restricted, regional economies are aggressively reconfiguring their cargo routes. Logistics operators and Gulf governments are shifting reliance to east-coast ports, overland transport corridors, and alternative pipelines to bypass the Hormuz chokepoint entirely. While these emergency multimodal measures provide a critical lifeline for stranded cargo, they are costly and operationally complex substitutes for direct ocean freight.
Freight Rate Update
The ongoing diversion of the global fleet around the Cape of Good Hope continues to absorb massive amounts of capacity, keeping global spot rates elevated.
• Asia to U.S. West Coast: Ocean freight markets are tightening rapidly to $3,300 per FEU, fuelled by severe bunker adjustment factors and regional fuel shortages as vessels burn extra fuel to navigate around Africa.
• Asia to North Europe: Blank sailings, equipment imbalances at Asian origin ports, and severe emergency fuel surcharges are pushing ocean freight rates steadily upward to $3,000 per FEU across major east-west trades, despite a lack of peak season demand.
Short-Term Future Outlook
The successful reopening of the Strait of Hormuz relies entirely on whether the two-week ceasefire holds and diplomatic negotiations progress. Even if maritime security slowly stabilizes, the massive backlog of stranded vessels will take weeks to clear. Supply chain managers should continue to treat the region as a high-risk zone and maintain diversified, multi-modal routing strategies to mitigate ongoing transit delays.
