RIYADH: Shipping and logistics across the Middle East were disrupted after major carriers halted routes and ordered vessels to seek shelter following joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran and Tehran’s warning restricting transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
At least 150 tankers, including crude oil and liquefied natural gas vessels, dropped anchor in open Gulf waters beyond the Strait of Hormuz, while dozens more were stationary on the other side of the chokepoint, shipping data showed on March 1, Reuters reported.
The tankers were clustered in open waters off the coasts of major Gulf oil producers, including Iraq and Saudi Arabia, as well as LNG giant Qatar, according to Reuters estimates based on ship-tracking data from the MarineTraffic platform.
This comes as French shipping giant CMA CGM instructed vessels operating in the Gulf to move to safe shelter and suspended some Suez Canal transits as security risks escalated along one of the world’s busiest trade routes.
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, is one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, carrying about 30 percent of global oil supplies along with significant volumes of liquefied natural gas.
