Maersk Ship Clears Hormuz Under US Escort as MSC, Hapag-Lloyd Pivot Routes

The U.S.-Iran ceasefire endured its biggest stress test Monday, but carriers are finding ways to operate around the conflict-ridden strait.​The U.S.-Iran ceasefire endured its biggest stress test Monday, but carriers are finding ways to operate around the conflict-ridden strait. 

A tenuous ceasefire that has largely paused the hostilities in Iran for nearly one month was put under its biggest stress test yet on Monday, but the container shipping world is finding some renewed reasons for optimism in the region.

Maersk confirmed that the Alliance Fairfax, a U.S.-flagged roll on/roll off vessel operated by subsidiary Farrell Lines, safely transited the Strait of Hormuz after being stuck in the Persian Gulf since February.

The ship was accompanied by U.S. military assets during its transit, which was completed without incident, Maersk said. All crew members are safe and unharmed.

The successful sailing for Maersk is one of two U.S.-flagged ships that were escorted through the Hormuz strait Monday, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). The movement came a day after President Donald Trump said the U.S. was launching “Project Freedom,” a military effort to help guide stranded ships through the conflict-ridden passage.

In the wake of Trump’s announcement, separate incidents in the region planted some seeds of doubt regarding the future of April’s ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran.

On Monday, the U.A.E. reported Iranian drone attack on a vital oil terminal at the Port of Fujairah, as well as multiple ships. The U.A.E.’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted a combine 15 ballistic and cruise missiles and four drones launched from Iran.

In a separate incident, the U.S. military destroyed six small Iranian attack boats after the Islamic republic fired cruise missiles and other projectiles at American warships and commercial vessels.

The strait has been effectively closed off to traffic since the start of the Iran war in late February due to safety threats from Iranian military forces, which has constricted trade through the conduit and disrupted global energy markets. In response, the U.S. imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports last month to force Iran’s leadership to give up its nuclear ambitions.

Following the seizure of two of its vessels by Iranian naval forces, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) unveiled a new service between Europe and the Middle East designed to avoid the Strait of Hormuz entirely.

MSC said it launched the Europe-Red Sea-Middle East Express in response to the growing demand of services from Europe to the Red Sea, as well as the wider disruption in the region.

The service will call at strategic ports in Europe like Antwerp, Belgium; Barcelona, Spain; and Bremerhaven, Germany; directly connecting to Saudi Arabian ports King Abdullah and Jeddah, as well as Aqaba in Jordan.

The world’s largest container shipping firm by tonnage carried will operate a trucking service from King Abdullah to Dammam Port, where feeder vessels will pick up cargo and sail it to major ports throughout the Persian Gulf.

The first sailing is scheduled from Antwerp on May 10.

The MSC service does not pass through the southern portion of the Red Sea or its chokepoint, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.

Commercial vessels have largely avoided those areas since late 2023, when the Yemen-based Houthis began attacking the ships. While the Houthis suspended the attacks in fall 2025, container shipping has still been reticent about sending loops through the area full time.

Like MSC, Hapag-Lloyd also revealed its own Hormuz avoidance plan, using third-party feeder services as it reopens bookings to ports in the upper Persian Gulf region.

Hapag-Lloyd said dry cargo, refrigerated and in-gauge specialized containers are the only freight being accepted under its booking resumption.

The carrier said the feeder services will operate between the U.A.E.’s Sharjah Port and other key ports in the country, as well as hubs in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iraq. However, the loops will not move on a fixed weekly schedule, and will remain subject to transit safety conditions in the region.

The service is for shipments coming from outside the strait from ports in Oman and India. Vessels will drop off cargo at the Khor Fakkan Port in Oman, where they will then be trucked to Sharjah in roughly five days.

The Germany-based carrier halted shipments to the upper gulf region on March 4.

Prediction markets are still unsure about the status of the Hormuz during the summer, with traders on Kalshi indicating there is a 46 percent of chance of traffic through the strait returning to normal by Aug. 1.

The number jumps to 53 percent by Sept. 1, and again increases to 60 percent to kick off October. Buyers and sellers are more positive about a more normalized traffic schedule to start the new year, with 75 percent saying they expect shipping cadence at the Strait of Hormuz to normalize by Jan. 1, 2027.