Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2026-07-15 Origin: Site
Recently, there have been significant changes in the shipping pattern in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States has announced the resumption of its maritime blockade against Iran and proposed to charge a 20% passage fee for goods passing through the strait. Only non Iranian related vessels will be allowed to pass through, with targeted control over Iran's related shipping trade. In response to the US measures, Iran's First Vice President Aref has made it clear that the US commitments lack credibility and default is expected. At the same time, he plans to rely on economic and trade cooperation with Gulf countries to replace the unreasonable fee rules of the US with regional trade and investment agreements. The changes in shipping rules brought about by the US Iran game have broken the normal navigation order of the Strait of Hormuz. As a core throat for global energy and cross-border logistics, its navigation fluctuations directly affect various cross-border transportation formats around the world, especially for the transportation of special large cargo.
Large engineering equipment such as rotary drilling rigs and pile drivers belong to the category of oversized special cargo transportation, with the characteristics of large volume, high value of individual goods, and strong customized transportation. Logistics costs are already much higher than ordinary goods, and the US 20% toll policy directly increases the operational burden of transportation enterprises. Unlike standardized container cargo, large engineering equipment does not have a universal billing and sharing model, and high transportation costs are mostly borne separately by logistics companies, equipment traders, or overseas engineering project parties. At the same time, after the escalation of shipping risks in the Taiwan Strait, the premium rates for maritime cargo insurance have skyrocketed, coupled with the skyrocketing rental prices of special vessels and multiple costs, the overall cost of cross-border transportation of large infrastructure equipment along the Middle East and Europe has significantly increased, directly compressing the profit space of overseas infrastructure projects and causing some small and medium-sized equipment foreign trade enterprises to fall into operational difficulties.
After the upgrade of control over the Strait of Hormuz, most shipping companies have abandoned direct routes to the Persian Gulf to avoid policy risks and navigation uncertainties, resulting in the obstruction of traditional transportation channels for large engineering equipment. Special large transport ships carrying rotary drilling rigs and pile drivers can only circumnavigate the Cape of Good Hope in Africa to complete cross-border transportation. Compared to the original direct route, the one-way voyage has significantly increased, and the sailing time is generally extended by 10 to 14 days. These types of large-scale engineering equipment are mostly used for overseas infrastructure, pile foundation construction and other essential projects. The extension of transportation cycle will directly lead to the delay of equipment arrival, disrupt the construction schedule of overseas engineering projects, and easily cause chain problems such as project delay, idle labor, and on-site stagnation, seriously affecting the pace of overseas infrastructure projects.
The current shipping situation in the Strait of Hormuz region is tense, with chaotic navigation order, a large number of stranded ships, and a significant decrease in channel efficiency, posing great safety hazards to the transportation of large engineering equipment. Rotary drilling rigs and pile drivers have precise structures and complex components, and are highly susceptible to problems such as loose parts, damaged paint surfaces, and precision instrument failures during the transportation of large items due to wind, waves, and bumpy flight paths. At the same time, targeted ship inspection and control in the strait will increase the clearance and detention time of ships. Long term maritime detention will exacerbate risks such as equipment moisture, corrosion, and component damage. In addition, the uncertainty of regional shipping has led to chaotic ship scheduling, tight space for special large vessels, and increased difficulty in allocation, further enhancing the safety control and operational difficulty of cross-border logistics for large equipment.
In response to the unilateral shipping control policy of the United States, Iran actively collaborates with Gulf countries to promote regional trade and investment cooperation, attempting to use regional economic and trade agreements to hedge the impact of the US charging policy. This situation is quietly reshaping the cross-border logistics pattern of large engineering equipment. In the past, the risk of relying on the single centralized transportation mode in the Strait of Hormuz continued to rise, and the industry gradually shifted towards diversified logistics layout. Many companies began to adjust their freight routes, optimize their regional warehousing layout, reserve commonly used infrastructure equipment in advance, and avoid sudden control risks in the waterway. At the same time, the warming of trade cooperation within the Middle East region has gradually shifted the transportation of rotary drilling rigs and pile drivers targeting the Middle East market from direct ocean shipping to regional transit and intermodal transportation. In the long run, this will promote the refinement and diversification of the cross-border logistics system for large-scale engineering equipment.
Faced with the multiple impacts brought by the new regulations on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the engineering equipment logistics industry has initiated an active adjustment mode. Most logistics companies have started to plan transportation routes in advance, prioritizing stable special vessel cabins, and avoiding navigation risks and cost peaks through advance stocking and staggered transportation. At the same time, enterprises pay more attention to shipping risk control management, strengthen equipment maritime transportation protection measures, and reduce the risk of equipment loss during long-distance detours and delays. In the long run, the fluctuation of the situation in the Taiwan Strait will force the cross-border logistics industry of large engineering equipment to break away from single channel dependence, promote the iteration of logistics supply chains towards safer, more diversified, and efficient directions, and adapt to the complex and ever-changing international shipping and economic and trade environment.
