170 vessels carrying 450,000 containers are stuck in the Strait of Hormuz. Maersk, invoking "force majeure" circumstances, notes that the Hormuz crisis has achieved what the Red Sea could not — namely, it has completely "eliminated" the destination for timber intended for the rapidly growing markets of the Middle East.
Satellite images confirm that an enormous shipping jam has formed at the Strait of Hormuz. As is known, Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned all mariners on 28 February that the waterway was closed. Shipping traffic fell by 80% over the following 24 hours. Exporters of timber and wood products have no "Cape of Good Hope equivalent" available, because there is now neither a detour nor a deadline for resolving the situation.
In the Middle East and North Africa, one of the world's most important and growing markets for wood products, trade has come to a halt. The American and Israeli attack on Iran has triggered a crisis in the Persian Gulf and has once again brought maritime traffic to a standstill. After Iran's warning that "the waterway is being closed, and any vessel that attempts to cross it will be burned", shipping traffic fell by 80% the next day, and a day later the Strait of Hormuz was closed to all vessels.
According to a statement by Linerlytica, 170 vessels carrying 450,000 containers — 1.4% of the world's container fleet — are currently stuck in the strait. It is unclear how they will be able to get out of the Strait of Hormuz. The world's four largest container shipping operators have suspended operations. Maersk has officially invoked the "force majeure clause" and introduced an emergency freight surcharge on all cargo shipments to and from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq and Oman.
The current crisis differs substantially from previous ones. When attacks by Yemen's Houthis forced vessels to abandon the Suez route in 2024, the Cape of Good Hope solution was a long and complicated shipping route, but it was available. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, by contrast, forces shippers to give up on the cargo's destination altogether, as there is no detour at all.
The intractable Persian Gulf problem
In recent years the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has become one of the most important and influential growth markets for timber exports. In 2024 Russia exported 1.7 million cubic metres of sawn timber to the region, while the American Hardwood Export Council (American Hardwood Export Council) has successfully increased trade in the United Arab Emirates by 27%, in Saudi Arabia by 8% and in Egypt by 15%. This has been possible thanks to major economic development projects in the region.
"The Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the adjacent waters are currently the most dangerous place for commercial shipping," Jakob Larsen, BIMCO's head of safety and security, stressed in an interview with Fox News. "Vessels in the Persian Gulf are exposed to the threat of Iranian attacks, and they are trying to avoid the danger zone."
Timber traders know this situation well
In June last year, during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, the Tennessee-based US company Cardin Forest Products was one of many timber traders that rerouted timber shipments bound for the Persian Gulf. "If the situation keeps escalating, there will be no orders any time soon, and who knows how long that will go on," the company's owner told Fox Business at the time. "Right now nobody knows what will happen. The export market is practically closed. It hurts — our warehouses are full." On that occasion the conflict between the two countries ended within two weeks... this one could last far longer.
Problems in Europe and elsewhere
The current supply disruptions affect more than just exporters operating in the Persian Gulf. "Around 20% of timber exports head to Asia, and most of these cargoes are transported through the Suez Canal," says Marita Lindström, director of the Finnish Forest Industries Federation. If vessels have to reroute around South Africa, the voyage is extended by thousands of kilometres. Delays of several weeks are therefore possible. "If the situation does not change, it will affect shipping prices and competition for container availability," Lindström warned. About half of Finland's exports to Asia are pulp, 26% wood products, 15% board and 8% paper; all of these product lines now face longer transport times and reduced container availability. Finland exports around 3 million euros' worth of forestry products to Qatar alone each year, not to mention other countries in the region.
Until 28 February the freight market had been recovering from two years of instability in the region. The return to the Red Sea at the end of 2026 was one of the few favourable developments analysts had been hoping for — lower prices, shorter transport times, freed-up capacity. "The consequences of the joint military operation will be the further weaponisation of trade in relations between states and the collapse of hopes for a return of container shipping to the Red Sea in 2026," said a leading expert at Xenet.
It should be stressed that there is a second cost dimension that the wider public has largely overlooked. QatarEnergy halted production after Iranian attacks on the company's facilities, and within two days gas prices rose by 50%. Since 22% of the world's LNG is transported through this strait, Asian sawmills that run on gas may face rising energy costs on top of freight costs.
* LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) is liquefied natural gas. It is ordinary natural gas that has been converted into liquid form through a cooling process (at -162 °C). In liquid form the gas takes up roughly 600 times less space than in its gaseous state, which makes it suitable for transport over long distances by tanker to regions where gas pipelines are not available.