Hapag-Lloyd has voiced cautious optimism on the prospect of resuming shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after a two-week ceasefire agreed between the US and Iran, but said that resuming normal traffic throughout its network would take at least six to eight weeks, Reuters reports.
Speaking in a call to customers, CEO Rolf Habben Jansen echoed guarded remarks by container shipping peer Maersk, saying that more security assurances were needed.
“Even if a ceasefire has now been agreed overnight, I would say that it’s fair to say that the conflict in the Middle East is still severely disrupting shipping, but also supply chains,” the Hapag CEO said, adding that the situation was “very fluid”.
He raised the prospect of taking customer orders, provided that the ceasefire holds over the next few days.
“We will likely open up for bookings into the upper Gulf area, probably initially for selected markets, but hopefully fairly soon,” said Jansen.
