Hapag-Lloyd says the US-led war in Iran is adding between $40m and $50m a week to its cost base, as fuel, insurance and other operating expenses climb sharply during the conflict.
Chief executive Rolf Habben Jansen told an earnings call that the financial hit is being driven mainly by bunker fuel, although insurance premiums, storage expenses and in some cases inland transportation costs have also risen significantly.
The German carrier has introduced contingency and emergency surcharges in an effort to recover some of those costs, though Habben Jansen said there is typically a delay before any of that revenue is reflected.
Operationally, the disruption is also severe. Hapag-Lloyd currently has six ships stranded in the Persian Gulf, with combined capacity of around 25,000 teu. According to the company, Iranian authorities are controlling which vessels can safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The trapped ships are mainly feeder vessels used to shuttle between regional ports.
The line is also unable to call ports inside the Gulf, although it continues to serve Salalah in Oman and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Around half of Hapag-Lloyd’s contract freight into the region is exposed to the current disruption, the company said.
Habben Jansen also warned that the Red Sea-Suez route remains effectively off limits, with Houthi threats in Yemen adding to security concerns. In his view, assuming a reopening of the Red Sea in the near term would be unrealistic, and the most probable scenario is that the route remains largely closed throughout 2026.
At the same time, Hapag-Lloyd is watching fuel availability closely. Habben Jansen said Asia is not among the company’s biggest bunkering regions, but acknowledged that possible shortages remain a risk worth monitoring.
The comments came as the carrier reported a drop in operating profit for 2025, underscoring the pressure that higher costs and wider geopolitical instability are placing on the container shipping industry.
