Iran warning near Hormuz collides with Red Sea shipping comeback
Armed boats attempted to intercept a vessel near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, the same day that major container lines also announced the resumption of limited transits through the Suez Canal.
Fears of renewed disruption to Middle Eastern shipping routes resurfaced Tuesday after armed boats attempted to intercept a US-flagged tanker near the Strait of Hormuz — the same day that major container lines Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk also announced the resumption of limited transits through the Suez Canal.
The parallel developments underline the fragile balance facing global trade amid current US-Iran tensions, which have revived long-standing concerns over the world’s most critical oil chokepoint. Shipping companies are betting on a cautious return to the Red Sea after more than two years of disruptions linked to the Gaza war, even as Yemen’s Houthi rebels have hinted that they could resume attacks in the waterway as regional turbulence persists.
Details: A group of armed small boats attempted to intercept a vessel roughly 16 nautical miles north of Oman on Tuesday, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations. Per Reuters, Iranian gunboats approached the US-flagged Stena Imperative and ordered the tanker to stop its engine.
UKMTO said the vessel was hailed over radio by several armed vessels but ignored requests to stop and continued on its planned route. The incident occurred in the inbound traffic lane near the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway linking the Gulf to the Indian Ocean. Authorities are investigating and UKMTO advised ships to transit the area with caution. Early on Tuesday, just hours before, a US F-35C fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone near an American aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean.
The episode comes amid heightened US-Iran tensions and follows several ship seizures by Iran around the strategic waterway. On Jan. 29, Iran’s Press TV reported that the naval forces of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were planning live-fire exercises in the straits off the Islamic Republic’s southern coast on Feb. 1-2, before an Iranian official later refuted the news.
Denmark’s Maersk and Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd announced on Tuesday they will resume their shared service through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal from mid-February under naval escort. The move applies to their IMX service, known as ME11, which connects India and the Middle East with the Mediterranean Sea.
In a press release, the shipping giants stressed that security remains top priority and that any further expansion of Red Sea transits will depend on continued stability and the absence of escalation. The decision follows earlier limited returns by Maersk and France’s CMA CGM in January and December.
Shipping companies were forced to redirect traffic from the route after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in late 2023, when Yemen’s Houthi rebels began targeting commercial traffic in the waterway in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Following a ceasefire last October, the Houthis signaled they would halt attacks and carriers have taken a stepwise approach to returning to the Red Sea.
Why it matters: The Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea sit at the heart of the world’s energy and trade flows. Blockages in both simultaneously would immediately shock global markets. Roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes through Hormuz, including most Gulf crude exports. Even minor incidents there can rattle markets and fuel price volatility.
While Tuesday’s Hormuz incident appears, as of this writing, to have been a warning rather than a major escalation, it reinforces how Iran can signal pressure without shutting the waterway — a move widely seen as a last resort that would also harm Tehran’s own oil exports. As of 1:53 p.m. EST on Tuesday, oil prices had risen on the news, with benchmark Brent crude trading above $67 per barrel, up about 1.5%.
The tentative return to the Red Sea reflects shipping companies’ desire to shorten routes, cut costs and ease capacity strains after years of diversions around Africa.
Yet the intertwined risks remain. In January, the Iran-aligned Houthis hinted they could resume attacks on shipping if US-Iran tensions worsen, injecting fresh uncertainty just as operators test the waters. That linkage means any escalation around Hormuz could quickly undermine confidence in the Red Sea recovery, reversing hard-won gains for global trade while threatening more economic pain for Egypt, which relies on Suez Canal revenues.
Know more: On Tuesday, the United Arab Emirates’ AD Ports Group announced $115 million in financing for a Red Sea shipping terminal in Egypt roughly three years after first signing an agreement to develop and operate the facility, in a sign that investors have also been moving ahead with plans amid signs of a cautious shipping recovery.
