Disruptions to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz are forcing Maersk to source marine fuel from the US and Europe and redistribute it to Asia via ship-to-ship transfers. The situation is driving bunker prices sharply higher, triggering emergency surcharges and exposing broader vulnerabilities in global energy-dependent supply chains.
The ongoing conflict affecting oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz has created an acute fuel shortage across key Asian bunkering hubs. In response, Maersk has begun loading vessels with maximum fuel volumes in the United States and Europe and transporting that fuel to Asia for redistribution at sea.
This extraordinary step reflects how severely regional supply chains for marine fuel have been disrupted. Nearly half of Asia’s bunker fuel supply originates from the Gulf region, making the blockage of flows through Hormuz a systemic shock rather than alocalized disruption.
According to Maersk’s leadership, several bunker suppliers in the Middle East and Asia have been unable to refuel vessels, forcing the carrier to manage fuel logistics internally — an unusual move for container lines that typically rely on established supply networks.
The Strait of Hormuz handles roughly one-fifth of global crude oiland refined product shipments — about 20 million barrels per day. Following air strikes and retaliatory attacks in the region, oil flows through this corridor have slowed dramatically, with commercial shipping largely avoiding the area due to security risks and surging war-risk insurance costs.
Attacks on vessels and safety concerns have further constrained tanker availability, making conventional fuel transport solutions difficult or impossible. As a result, carriers are resorting to less efficient routes and logistics methods, raising costs across the board.
The fuel crunch has already translated into dramatic price volatility. Marine bunker fuel prices in Singapore reportedly doubled almost overnight, jumping from roughly $519 to about $1,050 per metric ton.
To offset soaring costs, major ocean carriers — including Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, CMA CGM, and MSC — have introduced emergency bunker surcharges. Maersk alone announced a global surcharge of approximately $400 per FEU.
These additional costs are compounded by the expense of ship-to-ship fuel transfers and sourcing fuel from less efficient locations, creating a cascading effect across freight pricing.
With Persian Gulf ports effectively out of reach, vessels that had already departed Asia before booking suspensions are now diverting cargo to alternative ports. This redirection is causing congestion at substitute hubs across the region.
Carriers are prioritizing essential shipments such as food and pharmaceuticals, but delays are expected to expand to industrial inputs — including aluminum, petrochemicals, and plastics feedstocks — if the disruption persists.
For cargo already enroute to the Gulf, some lines have declared “end-of-voyage,” transferring responsibility to shippers once containers are offloaded at alternative ports. Maersk, however, is attempting to mitigate customer impact by offering options such as temporary storage, return to origin, or rerouting via land transport corridors.
This crisis underscores how deeply container shipping — and global trade — depends on stable energy flows. Even though only a portion of world cargo moves directly through the Gulf, disruptions to fuel supply ripple across all routes because marine transport cannot function without reliable bunkering infrastructure.
Carriers capable of managing fuel procurement, rerouting, and multimodal solutions internally are better positioned to maintain service continuity. Smaller operators and shippers without diversified logistics partners face significantly higher disruption risk.
Even if oil flows resume quickly, secondary impacts — including congestion, equipment imbalances, and contract renegotiations —could persist for months. Supply chains that rely on just-in-time delivery models are particularly exposed.
The situation illustrates how geopolitical shocks increasingly translate into operational challenges for global trade — not only through route closures but also through disruptions to critical supporting systems such as energy supply.
