Shipping Lines Cut Mideast Routes Posing Risk to Trade Flows
Smoke rises from Jebel Ali port after an Iranian missile attack in Dubai, March 1.
Photographer: Christopher Pike/BloombergThe world’s largest container carriers are rerouting ships to avoid the Persian Gulf, as a widening military conflict pitting the US-Israeli alliance against Iran threatens to disrupt global merchandise trade.
MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co., the top container line, halted cargo bookings for the Middle East while No. 2 A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S and Hapag-Lloyd AG suspended all crossings in the Strait of Hormuz.