Now Reading: Hormuz disruption adds $600 mn cost to Hapag-Lloyd in Q2
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Hormuz disruption adds $600 mn cost to Hapag-Lloyd in Q2
German shipping line Hapag-Lloyd has said the conflict in West Asia cost it about $600 million in additional expenses in the second quarter of 2026. The disruption around the Strait of Hormuz…
The Story in Brief
German shipping line Hapag-Lloyd has said the conflict in West Asia cost it about $600 million in additional expenses in the second quarter of 2026. The disruption around the Strait of Hormuz has driven up bunker fuel, insurance, storage, rerouting and inland transport costs for carriers. Maersk also reported a 44 per cent rise in average bunker price to $777 per tonne and a 36 per cent increase in total bunker costs to $2.1 billion in the same period.
Both lines have raised freight rates to offset some of the burden. Hapag-Lloyd’s average rate rose 9 per cent year-on-year, while Maersk’s average loaded rate jumped 22 per cent to $2,746 per FFE. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index nearly doubled to $3,240 per TEU by end-June 2026. Maersk said it rerouted 44,000 of the 47,000 affected containers to their destinations.
The Indian Opinion
The narrative that shipping lines alone bear the Hormuz burden is misleading. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have already passed on costs via double-digit freight rate hikes, with the Shanghai index nearly doubling. Ordinary Indian importers and exporters, not just global carriers, will feel the pinch in higher goods prices. Watch whether container-handling cost inflation, up 11 per cent, persists as oil prices stabilise. If bunker costs ease but freight rates remain elevated, questions about profiteering will rightly grow.
Source: thehindubusinessline.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
