Shipping giant Maersk is maintaining food and medicine supply lines via alternative land-bridge routes in the Gulf that still have some spare capacity despite the Iran war, its regional head told Reuters on Thursday (March 26).<\/p>\n
The war that began with U.S.-Israeli \u200bstrikes on Iran last month, followed by Iranian attacks across the region and the closing of \u200bthe Strait of Hormuz, has brought shipping in the Gulf to a near standstill, \u2060rippling across global supply chains.<\/p>\n
Danish container shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk is using a “land-bridge” system via ports in Jeddah \u200bin Saudi Arabia, Salalah and Sohar in Oman and Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates, to funnel \u200bin cargo before moving it by land to destinations across the Gulf region.<\/p>\n
Charles van der Steene, Dubai-based regional managing director for the Middle East, said Maersk was ramping up the network and coordinating with Gulf governments, which have introduced faster procedures to \u200bspeed deliveries.<\/p>\n
While it is prioritising critical goods, namely food and medicines, there is still capacity to spare on \u200bthese alternative routes, he added.<\/p>\n
Cargo volumes into the port in Jeddah have jumped 40% since the conflict began, van der Steene said.<\/p>\n
Before \u200cthe conflict, \u2060Maersk moved about 35,000 containers a week in and out of the Gulf, he said. Its land-bridge network is now absorbing those volumes. In the initial weeks of the war, Maersk worked with customers and Gulf governments to prioritise medicines and food, including chilled and frozen cargo, and other critical shipments.<\/p>\n
Maersk’s board chair said on Wednesday \u200bthat the Middle East region \u200bhas a “pressing need” for \u2060food imports disrupted by the war. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries import up to 85% of their food, according to the World Economic Forum.<\/p>\n
Some of the alternative routes, \u200bsuch as via Saudi Arabia, were already in place given previous disruptions like in the \u200bRed Sea \u2060two years ago, but Maersk has ramped up its land-bridge system across the Gulf over the last several weeks, van der Steene added.<\/p>\n
The fluid security situation could still force changes to routes, he said. Rising costs for fuel, \u2060insurance and \u200btransport were pushing up overall logistics prices, he said, declining to \u200bsay by how much.<\/p>\n
Van der Steene said Maersk was coordinating with GCC governments on border, customs and terminal handling procedures, including fast-track “green \u200blane” arrangements to move goods more quickly.<\/p>\n
Reporting by Maggie Fick for Reuters<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n