The Loadstar reported on 15 September 2026 that the collapse of Omani-led talks on Strait of Hormuz passage left Middle East importers facing the highest container shipping costs on record. Citing Xeneta chief analyst Peter Sand, it said the strait has been effectively closed to container shipping for more than half a year, with alternative landbridges via Jeddah and Khor al Fakkan now established but capacity-constrained.
Xeneta average spot rates from China to Jeddah reached $10,870 per FEU and from China to Khor al Fakkan $10,626 per FEU, up 256% and 479% respectively since 28 February 2026, surpassing prior Covid-era peaks on those trades. Sand said the higher cost comes with longer transit times and worse reliability, and that shippers have little other option while Hormuz stays closed to boxes. Haulage rates out of Jeddah, King Abdullah Port and Khor al Fakkan are also at historically high levels.
UKMTO figures cited by The Loadstar show hundreds of vessels of all types have still transited Hormuz since the conflict began, but container ships were only about 6% of those moves (just over 100 sailings), with transit risk rated at UKMTO's highest level. For upper-Gulf markets such as Iraq and Kuwait, IRU noted TIR trucking via Turkey and Syria as a partial alternative, with some reported transit-time cuts versus prior sea routings.