Stalemate over the control of the Strait of Hormuz and widening rifts between the US and Iran trigger a cross-border logistics crisis for large foundation components

The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has clearly stated that the Strait of Hormuz continues to be closed, denying the US's claim of a safe navigation channel. The US and Iran have serious differences in their understanding of the passage rights in the strait, and the core shipping throat in the Middle East is in a state of control and tug of war. The soaring uncertainty of waterway safety directly impacts cross-border large-scale transportation relying on the Persian Gulf and Middle East routes, and has a comprehensive impact on the shipping efficiency, transportation costs, route planning, and delivery performance of heavy pile foundation equipment such as rotary drilling rigs and pile drivers.

There are cognitive differences in channel control, and the safety risks of large-scale navigation have been comprehensively upgraded

The current situation in the Strait of Hormuz is characterized by a confrontation between the US claiming controllable navigation and Iran's comprehensive blockade and strike, with no unified rules of passage and unpredictable maritime risks. Compared to ordinary bulk cargo, rotary drilling rigs and pile drivers are ultra high value, unbreakable, and oversized heavy equipment. The target characteristics of heavy lifting vessels and semi submersible vessels required for transportation are obvious, and their ability to avoid risks is weak. Once they accidentally enter disputed waters, they are highly susceptible to safety threats. Logistics companies have completely abandoned the risky navigation plan, completely terminated the direct shipping plan across the Taiwan Strait, and eliminated major operational risks such as equipment damage and vessel seizure.

The suspension of all flights has forced the route to detour, significantly extending the delivery cycle of equipment

Due to the continuous closure of the strait, the large near ocean routes that originally relied on the Strait of Hormuz to directly reach the Middle East and Europe have come to a complete halt. All special ships carrying pile foundation equipment are forced to detour around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, resulting in a significant increase in one-way voyage and an extension of transportation time by about two weeks compared to conventional routes. Rotary drilling rigs and pile drivers are often used in key overseas infrastructure projects. The delay in equipment delivery directly leads to the stagnation of overseas pile foundation construction, the postponement of the project schedule, and the surge in cross-border performance pressure for enterprises, completely breaking the stability of project delivery.

The risk control level of shipping has been raised, and the comprehensive cost of large-scale logistics continues to rise

The stalemate in the Middle East shipping route game continues, and global shipping agencies have significantly raised their risk ratings for the Persian Gulf and surrounding waters. Large vessel war insurance rates and route hedging surcharges have also skyrocketed simultaneously. Heavy pile foundation equipment has high value and transportation costs, and the premium increase is much higher than that of ordinary goods. At the same time, long-distance detours have significantly increased fuel consumption, ship leasing, and labor operation and maintenance costs. The combination of multiple expenses has significantly raised the total cost of cross-border shipping of rotary drilling rigs and pile drivers, continuously compressing the profit margins of foreign trade enterprises in construction machinery.

The failure of maritime transportation channels has forced the transformation of layout, and large-scale logistics has turned to a diversified risk avoidance mode

The navigation deadlock in the Strait of Hormuz is difficult to resolve in the short term, and the failure of a single shipping channel has forced the industry to restructure its large-scale logistics system. In response to the export of rotary drilling rigs and pile drivers to the Middle East and Europe, the industry has generally abandoned high-risk sea freight routes and fully switched to land multimodal transport channels such as China Europe freight trains and the Trans Caspian International Transport Corridor. At the same time, we will promote the modular transportation mode of equipment to avoid the risk of long-distance sea freight for the whole machine. Through multi-channel diversion, staggered shipment, and long-term price locking, we will hedge the supply chain uncertainty caused by geopolitical fluctuations and ensure the basic smooth operation of cross-border logistics.