The Strait of Hormuz is effectively shut this week, and every sea booking into Shuwaikh runs through it. That changes the question you should be asking before you confirm anything.
The question stops being "what's the rate?" and becomes "who pays when my box gets rerouted?"
Most freight quotes are silent on this. When a lane closes, the carrier declares force majeure, and the cost of the longer routing — extra freight, war-risk cover, transhipment handling — lands somewhere. On a bare port-to-port rate, that "somewhere" is usually you, after the cargo is already moving.
Three things to confirm before you book anything this week:
- Routing named — is the quote priced for the lane that's actually sailing, or one that isn't?
- Surcharge ceiling — can war-risk and reroute charges be added after you accept, and is there a cap?
- Force majeure terms — who carries the reroute cost if the strait stays shut?
A rate with no routing behind it isn't a price — it's an exposure.
Importing into Kuwait this week? Send us the lane. We'll come back with the routing that's actually moving and an all-in that holds.