French container line CMA CGM is deploying alternative multimodal solutions combining sea, rail, and road transport to maintain supply chain logistics around the restricted Strait of Hormuz.
The Marseilles-based carrier said the options prioritize the safety of crew and employees while mobilizing support for customers’ supply chains, and ensuring continuity of trade to and from the Middle East.
Iran has restricted access to the strait guarding entry to the Persian Gulf since shortly after being attacked Feb. 28 by Israel and the United States. Hundreds of ships have been trapped, threatening energy supplies and other commodities, and sending global prices soaring.
Though physically 20 miles wide, Hormuz only offers single-file passage in and out through two mile-wide channels. Only ships from China, India and Turkey have been granted access by Tehran. Some individual vessels have reportedly made a run for it under cover of night with their identification systems turned off.
CMA CGM’s plans include deployment of multiple alternative transport solutions and strategic entry points for Gulf-bound flows connecting the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan via the ports of Khor Fakkan and Fujairah (UAE), Sohar (Oman), and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia).
From these ports, CMA CGM offers logistics corridors to serve the main hubs in the UAE (Khalifa, Jebel Ali, Sharjah), and other countries bordering the Arabian Gulf via a combination of regional road and maritime transport.
Six Gulf countries will be connected by road and rail routes from ports located outside the strait.
From Jeddah on the Red Sea, CMA CGM has established road corridors, with or without maritime connections, for onward delivery to Saudi Arabia (Dammam), the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Iraq.
“This setup also allows flows to connect to the Mediterranean and Asia without exposure to the strait,” the company said in a statement.
Omani ports also provide a third major alternative route for regional and cross-border flows to the UAE and northern Gulf countries, combining road and feeder services.
Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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