A containership was struck by a projectile north of Jebel Ali today, as attacks on commercial shipping spread deeper into the Persian Gulf and begin to drive up operating costs across global liner networks.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said the vessel was hit about 35 nautical miles north of the UAE port, causing a small fire. All crew were reported safe and damage assessments were continuing.
Shipping sources said the vessel was likely the 2,700 teu Source Blessing, a Hapag-Lloyd chartered ship, sublet to Maersk, and normally deployed on the Oman Gulf Shuttle (OGS) service within the Gemini network.
Hapag-Lloyd confirmed that one of its sublet charter ships had been struck by shrapnel but that the crew had extinguished the fire and quickly contained the situation.
The feeder service had been suspended six days earlier due to the conflict, leaving the vessel at anchor inside the Gulf.
The incident suggests attacks are no longer confined to ships attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, but are increasingly affecting vessels operating more widely across the Gulf.
In a summary today, UKMTO said it had received 20 reports of incidents affecting vessels operating in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman since 28 February, including 16 attacks and four reports of suspicious activity.
The escalating security situation is already feeding into global shipping costs.
Bunker prices have surged since the outbreak of hostilities, with very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) reaching about $921 a tonne, up from around $576 before the crisis, according to Ship & Bunker data.
Container lines say the disruption is also affecting where vessels are able to refuel. Maersk said supply remained available globally, but had become unevenly distributed, prompting the carrier to reposition bunkers across its network to ensure ships could continue to bunker where needed.
A UK forwarder said the surge in bunker prices was already feeding into freight costs across several tradelanes. To cover the impact, Maersk has introduced a temporary Emergency Bunker Surcharge (EBS) across global trades from 25 March.
Maersk has also introduced emergency freight charges for cargo moving to and from several Gulf markets, including $1,800 per teuand $3,000 per 40ft, reflecting the need for alternative routing, storage, and additional operational measures.
Carriers are also taking sharply different approaches to services in the region.
Maersk has suspended most bookings to and from several Gulf countries, including the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain, while it works to manage cargo already in transit and assess alternative routing options.
By contrast, CMA CGM said it was reopening both import and export bookings for Gulf markets, but only through multimodal transport solutions designed to avoid the most dangerous waters.
The carrier said shipments would move via bonded landbridge corridors through ports such as Jeddah, Sohar, Fujairah, and Khor Fakkan, before continuing by feeder vessel or truck into markets including Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain.
Other lines are also beginning to pass rising costs on to shippers. MSC has announced emergency fuel surcharges across multiple tradelanes, reflecting the sharp rise in bunker prices and growing operational disruption across Middle Eastern shipping routes.
Shippers’ groups have criticised the wave of new charges. James Hookham, director of the Global Shippers Forum, said carriers had launched “a flurry of surcharge announcements” in recent days that would significantly increase logistics costs for cargo owners.
“In total, the surcharges will have more than doubled the agreed or contracted freight costs for some shipments,” he told The Loadstar, warning that the additional charges could put particular pressure on smaller exporters.
Meanwhile, port operations in the region are also being affected. Salalah Port temporarily suspended operations following an attack on nearby fuel storage facilities, removing a key container transhipment hub outside the Gulf from liner networks.
With attacks continuing and fuel markets volatile, carriers are increasingly restructuring services, cargo flows, and pricing mechanisms as the crisis begins to reshape container shipping across several major tradelanes.
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