Middle Eastern Media: The Hormuz Strait Crisis Gives Rise to New Energy Pipelines and Alternative Shipping Routes
The closure of the Hormuz Strait has exposed the vulnerability of the world's most important energy corridor.
A deeper issue is whether this supply disruption will permanently reshape the global energy trade landscape. The route around the Cape of Good Hope (which takes an additional 15 days and $3 million to $5 million per voyage) has once again become the default choice for avoiding the Middle East's chokepoint.
At the same time, the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project, which connects Nigeria's gas fields and passes through 13 West African countries, spanning a total of 5,660 kilometers, has once again highlighted its strategic significance since the strait was closed. The UAE joined the European Investment Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, and the OPEC Fund for International Development last May, indicating that Gulf capital is hedging against the chokepoint risks exposed by this crisis.
This disruption is reshaping maritime logistics patterns. Gulf hub ports including Fujairah, Ras Tanura, and Jebel Ali have fallen into stagnation, while alternative ports such as Yanbu on the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia, Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and Singapore have taken on the task of transporting goods diverted from the original routes.
Even if the strait reopens quickly, shipping is unlikely to return to pre-crisis levels soon. Vessels repositioning, insurance returning to normal, and renegotiating contracts interrupted due to force majeure could keep the disruption going for several months. Long-term instability may also have lasting effects, reshaping tanker routes and altering the competitiveness of ports.
Source: Gulf International Forum
Original: toutiao.com/article/1859690998742020/
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