Maersk has imposed a new $1,000 surcharge per container for cargo carried on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, as mounting security threats send shipping costs higher across the Middle East. The Danish shipping giant is not currently operating services through the strait but introduced the new fee in its latest operational update on Thursday.
Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has collapsed over the past week amid continuing attacks on vessels by Iran and a US blockade of Iranian ports. Maersk has been trying to keep cargo moving by using land routes linking Red Sea ports with those on the Gulf coast, connecting Gulf states to global markets through the Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
But that alternative lifeline is now also coming under threat. In its 40th Middle East operational update, Maersk detailed measures introduced since the US and Israel attacked Iran on the last day of February 2026. The company said it has established a network of land routes linking Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Iraq to global markets, although bookings have been suspended on several routes.
Maersk has also been working to reduce the exposure of its vessels in the Arabian Gulf. During a period of calm following a US-Iran peace memorandum of understanding, Maersk Baltimore and a chartered vessel left the Gulf in late June after “thorough security assessments”, while three Maersk vessels remained in the region.
Earlier in May, the company said one of its vessels had left the Gulf under US military escort.