COSCO Restarts Middle East Container Bookings, Skirting Hormuz
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A COSCO Shipping container ship. Photo: VCG
China’s COSCO Shipping Lines Co. Ltd. resumed standard container bookings from the Far East to six Middle Eastern countries on March 25, using a sea-to-land transfer network to bypass the blocked Strait of Hormuz.
The shift shows how major carriers are trying to keep cargo moving after Iran blockaded the key maritime chokepoint following the outbreak of war involving the U.S., Israel and Iran.
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- COSCO Shipping Lines resumed container bookings to six Middle Eastern countries on March 25, bypassing the blocked Strait of Hormuz with a sea-to-land transfer network.
- COSCO and CMA CGM are rerouting ships to ports east of the strait, then trucking containers to final destinations to avoid the blockade caused by conflict.
- COSCO is the world's fourth-largest container carrier, with 453 vessels and 2.45 million TEUs in capacity.
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Who’s Who
- COSCO Shipping Lines Co. Ltd.
- COSCO Shipping Lines Co. Ltd., the world's fourth-largest container carrier, resumed standard container bookings from the Far East to six Middle Eastern countries on March 25. They are using a sea-to-land transfer network to bypass the blocked Strait of Hormuz, shipping containers to ports east of the strait and then trucking them to their final destinations. Their vessels are temporarily avoiding the waterway due to security concerns.
- CMA CGM
- CMA CGM (达飞轮船) is the world's second-largest container line. To circumvent the blocked Strait of Hormuz, they initiated a sea-to-land transfer network on March 11. This involved shipping containers to ports east of the strait, then trucking them to final destinations, similar to the approach taken by COSCO. This strategy allowed them to resume import and export bookings for several Middle Eastern countries.
- COSCO Shipping Holdings Co. Ltd.
- COSCO Shipping Holdings Co. Ltd. is the parent company of COSCO Shipping Lines, the world's fourth-largest container carrier. It is listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong. It operates a large fleet, including many vessels currently stranded in the Persian Gulf amid conflict.
- COSCO Shipping
- COSCO Shipping, the state-owned parent of COSCO Shipping Lines, is the fourth-largest container carrier globally. Due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade, COSCO Shipping Lines resumed container bookings to the Middle East by rerouting shipments to ports east of the strait, then trucking them to their final destinations. COSCO Shipping has the largest fleet of Chinese commercial ships stranded in the Persian Gulf.
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What Happened When
- March 8, 2026：
- COSCO's Feihongda 66 has been anchored in the Gulf of Oman, east of the Strait of Hormuz, since this date.
- March 11, 2026：
- CMA CGM restored import and export bookings for Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
- March 13, 2026：
- COSCO's Aquarius has been anchored in the Gulf of Oman, east of the Strait of Hormuz, since this date.
- March 25, 2026：
- COSCO Shipping Lines resumed standard container bookings from the Far East to six Middle Eastern countries using a sea-to-land transfer network to bypass the blocked Strait of Hormuz. Feihongda 66 was expected to berth at Fujairah late this day.
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