Remaining regime forces have blocked the Strait of Hormuz after the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran on Saturday morning. An aerial view, taken with a drone, shows a crowd holding a flag during a march and rallyin support of regime change in the Middle Eastern nation. Photo by Ted Soqui/EPA
The Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that runs alongside Iran and through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply, in addition to other essential commodities, runs through, has been blocked.
After the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran, blocking the key trade route has been among the reactions that what is left of the nearly half-century-long regime after the attacks were launched over the weekend.
Iranian state media reported Sunday that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announced it would fire on any ship looking to pass the route as many shippers were looking to avoid the region amid the burgeoning war, NBC News, Barron’s and The Times of Israel reported.
Ships that look to avoid the Strait of Hormuz would be forced to sail around the Cape of Good Hope, which is the southernmost tip of Africa and will add at least several days to anything taking the alternate shipping route.
“If major carriers restrict bookings and vessels reroute round the Cape of Good Hope, you’re adding weeks to global shipping schedules,” Wasel & Wasel managing partner Mahmoud Abuswasel told NBC. “That effectively removes capacity from the system.”
Cutting off access, however, may not entirely cut off shipping along the Asia-to-Europe shipping route, but according to Barron’s, the freeze on moving through the strait is “unprecedented” and most shipping companies have advised their vessels to avoid the situation and seek safe haven.
Travelling south around Africa adds roughly 10 days and may increase costs for shipping companies by 30 percent.
Abuswasel told NBC that stretching transit times by days to weeks can slow down a range of businesses, starting with raw materials showing up late and the dominoes falling from there.
“Manufacturers feel it first, and consumers feel it soon after in the form of delays, tighter inventories and rising prices,” he said.
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks during a press conference after the weekly Republican Senate caucus luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
