London Maritime Academy is a trade name for London Premier Group
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Posted On: 3/27/2026, 8:46:20 AM
Last Update: 3/27/2026, 8:46:20 AM
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has drawn attention to the movement of goods out of the Arabian Gulf, which accounts for 20% of global oil production and 30% of global fertiliser production.
Importantly, however, the majority of the region's food is imported because cargo supplies are not arriving.
Major global container lines have suspended cargo reservations for the Gulf region due to the inability to cross the Strait. While there are overland transportation options through Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, they are costly and have limited capacity.
On Wednesday, Maersk chairman Robert Maersk Uggla emphasised the urgent requirement for food imports into the Gulf market, particularly for cold chain deliveries, due to the current closure of the Strait of Hormuz. He stated that efforts are being made to find alternative routes for cargo delivery into the Gulf.
Moreover, the fourth-largest container line in the world, China Cosco, declared on Wednesday that it will start taking reservations into the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Iraq—all of the countries (except for Iran) impacted by the shutdown.
Despite being widely reported as an announcement that transits via Hormuz will resume, it seems that Cosco has no intention of sending ships to service Gulf destinations.
Likewise, several Chinese freight analysts have confirmed that containers would be emptied at Fujairah and transported overland, according to a Chinese-language map that was included with Cosco's announcement.
The service is similar to agreements previously established by CMA CGM to transport cargo overland through nearby ports on the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and Gulf of Oman.
According to Cosco, the service could still be altered in response to new developments in a “volatile” security environment.
Furthermore, one maritime component of an intermodal chain may be included in these alternate routes into the Gulf. Gulftainer and Mawani, the Saudi port administration, have agreed on a deal to establish a feeder service that will connect Khor Fakkan to Sharjah and ultimately to Dammam by water.
At some point, the connection replicates the majority of an all-water journey from the Indian Ocean to the important Saudi seaport, but it avoids the Strait of Hormuz by using a quick land bridge over the United Arab Emirates.
Maritime Law Courses in the UK address overland routes under maritime law, sometimes known as “maritime and transport law,” which needs an emphasis on multimodal transport, carrier liability, and the legal intersection of land and sea routes. Key issues include cargo liability restrictions during land transportation (e.g., the CMR convention), pipeline/cable legal regimes, and port connectivity.
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