Blue Economy
$10BN Cargo Crises: Over 270,000 TEUs Stranded as Global Shipping Giant Halt Gulf Bookings — Nigeria’s Trade Lanes at Risk
$10BN Cargo Crises: Over 270,000 TEUs Stranded as Global Shipping Giant Halt Gulf Bookings — Nigeria’s Trade Lanes at Risk
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News Correspondent | Lagos
The global shipping industry is facing one of its most severe disruptions in recent memory, as leading container carriers suspend cargo bookings across the Arabian Gulf amid intensifying Middle East tensions — a crisis that threatens to ripple through Nigeria’s import-dependent economy and raise costs at the ports of Lagos, Apapa, and Tin Can Island.
Industry data now confirms that more than 270,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) — valued at an estimated $10 billion — are stranded at Gulf ports or adrift in surrounding waters, with no clear timeline for resolution.
Ben Tracy, Vice President of Strategic Business Development at shipping intelligence firm Vizion, described the scale of the paralysis as staggering. “You are looking at about $10 billion worth of cargo stranded at ports or in the Arabian Gulf. That’s over 270,000 TEUs,” Tracy stated.
Global shipping giant A.P. Moller–Maersk, which operates several key routes serving West Africa including Nigeria, has suspended all cargo booking acceptance for shipments to and from ports in the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and most Omani ports, with the exception of Salalah. The Danish carrier currently has approximately 14 vessels with a combined capacity of roughly 70,000 TEUs either trapped or operating in the affected zone.
French carrier CMA CGM, another major player on Nigeria-bound trade lanes, has halted hazardous cargo bookings to multiple Middle Eastern destinations and suspended Suez Canal transits entirely. Between 14 and 17 of its vessels — representing close to 70,000 TEUs — are reported to be sheltering or stranded in the region.
German liner Hapag-Lloyd has gone further, implementing an immediate and comprehensive booking suspension covering all cargo types to and from Gulf ports, including those in the UAE, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman’s Sohar terminal, and Saudi Arabia’s Dammam and Jubail ports. Hapag-Lloyd’s Chief Executive Officer, Rolf Jansen, confirmed that approximately 50,000 TEUs belonging to the carrier have been caught in the conflict zone.
Ocean Network Express (ONE) and COSCO Shipping Lines have also announced temporary booking suspensions on critical Gulf routes. ONE’s CEO, Jeremy Nixon, noted that around 100 container vessels are among approximately 750 ships currently navigating the Strait of Hormuz — a choke point through which a significant portion of global energy and trade cargo passes. COSCO, meanwhile, has issued a navigation advisory ordering vessels to prioritise crew safety by reducing speed, anchoring, or relocating to safer anchorages, with logistics sources estimating that six of its ships are directly affected. Shipping data firm Kpler adds that MSC has between 15 and 16 vessels either trapped or sheltering in the Gulf.
The disruption, experts warn, is not confined to vessels already at sea. Cargo waiting at origin ports worldwide — including goods destined for Nigeria from Asian and European manufacturers — is equally frozen. “Containers destined to the region are waiting in their origin ports. These containers have nowhere to go,” Tracy said.
For Nigerian importers and manufacturers who depend heavily on goods transiting through Gulf hubs, the consequences could prove severe. Logistics firms have warned that carriers are now invoking emergency clauses written into Bills of Lading, which allow them to divert vessels to alternative ports or terminate voyages ahead of schedule. SEKO Logistics, in a notice to clients, cautioned that shippers could face a cascade of additional charges — including container handling fees, storage costs, diversion surcharges, and onward transportation expenses.
MSC has already moved to monetise the disruption, reportedly imposing an $850 charge per container for diverted cargo — a levy that, applied across all affected shipments, could yield approximately $158 million in fees for the carrier alone.
The unfolding crisis at the Strait of Hormuz adds fresh urgency to longstanding calls within Nigeria’s maritime sector for supply chain diversification, stronger bilateral shipping agreements, and accelerated development of domestic port infrastructure capable of absorbing such global shocks. For now, Nigerian traders, port operators, and logistics managers will be watching developments in the Gulf closely — knowing that what happens in the Hormuz could very quickly be felt on the Lagos shoreline.