Iran’s Conflict Shifts Sea Routes, Africa as New Pivot

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The closure of the Strait of Hormuz and escalating tensions in the Red Sea are significantly altering shipping routes, positioning Africa as a central hub for global container traffic, according to sources in logistics and maritime industries.

In the past two months, this blockade has compelled shipping companies to seek alternative land routes for delivering food and manufactured goods, as sea routes to Gulf coast nations have become inaccessible.

What are the new routes to Gulf nations?

Jeddah port on the Red Sea is emerging as a key regional hub, where vessels from major shipping lines such as MSC, CMA CGM, Maersk, and Cosco arrive via the Suez Canal. Cargo then transitions to trucks and traverses desert highways to reach destinations like Sharjah, Bahrain, and Kuwait—which haven’t been serviced by sea for the past two months.

“Jeddah’s port simply isn’t built to handle such large import volumes, leading to congestion,” said Arthur Barillas de The, co-founder of freight forwarding company Ovrsea. Data from Kpler Marine Traffic shows that as of Thursday, 11 container ships were docked there, with nine waiting for an average of 36 hours before unloading—almost double the wait time from the previous week.

To bypass the Strait of Hormuz, shipowners have turned to ports in Oman’s Sohar and UAE ports like Khorfakkan and Fujairah, which are accessible by land from the United Arab Emirates. Additionally, Aqaba in Jordan serves as a gateway for shipments to Iraqi cities like Baghdad and Basra. A Turkish corridor also facilitates trade into northern Iraq.

Why are Asia-Europe shipments avoiding the Suez Canal?

This shift predates the Iran conflict but has become more pronounced with recent hostilities. Since November 19, 2023, shipping routes have headed around Africa’s eastern coast, avoiding the Red Sea entirely due to attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militias from Yemen’s coast, according to CyclOpe, a commodities publication.

Systematic rerouting by shipping lines now sees vessels skirt around Africa, passing the Cape of Good Hope before proceeding north to Europe and the Mediterranean. Experts like Edouard Louis-Dreyfus, chairman of Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, note that roughly 70% of freight traffic previously traveling through the Red Sea is now diverted via this route.

Data from the IMF’s PortWatch indicates that ship traffic around the Cape of Good Hope has more than tripled over the past three years, while traffic through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait has halved. Between March 1 and April 24, 2026, an average of 20 ships each day navigated around the Cape—compared to just six during the same period last year. Conversely, Red Sea transits have dropped from 18 per day in 2023 to around five now.

What are the implications?

Travel times between Asia and Europe have extended by about two weeks on average, with shipping costs rising due to increased fuel consumption—up 30 to 50%—and the need for 10 to 20% more ships to maintain frequency.

While some African ports, like Tanger Med, are experiencing increased activity—handling 11 million containers in 2025, an 8.4% rise—not all regions are benefiting. Egypt, for example, has seen a significant dip in revenue from the Suez Canal, losing over $7 billion in 2024—a reduction of more than 60% compared to the previous year, as per CyclOpe.