The closure of key maritime corridors around the Persian Gulf is creating a growing imbalance in the global container supply chain, with hundreds of thousands of containers effectively stranded inside the region.
According to maritime analytics firm Sea-Intelligence, around 204,000 TEUs of capacity remain trapped inside the Persian Gulf as shipping lines avoid routes passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Persian Gulf normally receives a high volume of containerized imports through deep-sea shipping services. In January alone, 47 regular services called at Gulf ports, generating 336 port calls and representing a combined nominal capacity of 1.32 million TEUs.
Nearly half of these calls were made at Jebel Ali, the region’s primary transshipment hub.
However, with limited safe access routes available, vessels that were already inside the Gulf region have been unable to leave, effectively locking large quantities of containers and equipment inside regional terminals.
Because the Gulf region is structurally a net importer of containerized cargo, vessels arriving from Asia typically discharge loaded containers before returning to Asian manufacturing hubs with empty boxes.
With the region now largely cut off from maritime routes, those empty containers are unable to return to Asia — potentially creating equipment shortages at export hubs across the Far East.
According to Sea-Intelligence CEO Alan Murphy, the disruption could worsen existing container imbalances already affecting Asia-Europe trade lanes.
