Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2026-04-13 Origin: Site
Since the military action launched by the United States and Israel against Iran on February 28, the relationship between the United States, Europe, and NATO has fallen into a serious rift. US President Trump has repeatedly complained about NATO allies being "on the sidelines" and even threatened to withdraw from NATO. Although he is bound by US law and cannot directly "withdraw from the alliance", mutual trust within NATO has been severely eroded. The Iran conflict not only led to the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, exacerbating global energy and shipping turbulence, but also caused divisions and games between the United States and Europe. From multiple dimensions such as route safety, logistics layout, and cost control, it has had a profound impact on the global shipping and logistics of large engineering equipment such as rotary drilling rigs and pile drivers, bringing new uncertainties to the construction machinery and logistics industry.
After the outbreak of the Iran conflict, the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed, and coupled with the rift in US Europe NATO relations, the shipping situation has further deteriorated. As a necessary route for nearly one-fifth of the world's crude oil shipping, the obstruction of navigation in this strait directly leads to the disorder of the global shipping system. According to data from Lloyd's Shipbuilding Information Service, after the US Israel military operation began in early March, the traffic volume in the strait plummeted sharply, and the number of ships passing through during the same period sharply decreased from 1229 last year to 77. The Asia Europe shipping route, which relies on the cross-border transportation of large equipment such as rotary drilling rigs and pile drivers, was originally able to achieve efficient passage through the Strait of Hormuz. However, shipping giants have now suspended routes passing through the strait and are forced to detour around alternative routes such as the Cape of Good Hope, resulting in a significant extension of travel time from Europe to the Gulf region and further reduction in transportation efficiency. Some export orders for rotary drilling rigs have been delayed due to route obstruction.
The deepening rift in the relationship between the United States, Europe, and NATO has led to differences in the allocation of shipping resources and the use of military bases, indirectly affecting the transportation of large equipment. Trump is infuriated by NATO allies' refusal to participate in escorting the Strait of Hormuz, restricting the use of their airspace and military bases by the US military, and even considering withdrawing US troops from "inactive" allies. This game directly leads to chaos in the allocation of transatlantic shipping resources. In order to reduce dependence on the United States, many European countries are accelerating the renovation of port facilities, upgrading some civilian ports to military transportation hubs for NATO's eastern wing arms delivery. This has diverted port resources originally used for large-scale equipment transportation, lowered the priority of civilian transportation in some European ports, and affected the efficiency of transshipment and unloading of equipment such as rotary drilling rigs.
The strait obstruction caused by the Iran conflict, coupled with the uncertainty of US Europe relations, has pushed international oil prices to continue running at high levels, while also pushing up maritime insurance costs, squeezing the profit margins of large equipment shipping under dual pressure. The fuel cost of shipping large equipment such as rotary drilling rigs by sea accounts for 45% -55%. The soaring oil prices have directly led to a significant increase in the operating costs of special vessels. Shipping companies have raised freight rates and added emergency conflict surcharges, and the cost of transporting a single rotary drilling rig across oceans has increased by more than 25% compared to before. At the same time, the Strait of Hormuz and its surrounding waters are classified as high-risk areas, with a single insurance expenditure of up to 14 million US dollars for a super large oil tanker. The rates of war and cargo insurance for the transportation of large equipment have significantly increased, further increasing the burden on engineering machinery export enterprises and logistics enterprises.
In response to changes in US European relations and regional instability, many European countries are accelerating port layout adjustments. Greece, Spain, Germany and other countries are renovating or building new ports, upgrading them to NATO military transportation hubs, which directly affects the transit transportation of large equipment. The Alexandropolis Port in Greece is undergoing deep water dredging, and after renovation, it will focus on serving military equipment delivery, while the transfer space for large civilian equipment will be compressed; Germany plans to build a second military port in the North Sea to divert the capacity of existing civilian ports; Spain is renovating its naval docks and building an international NATO support base, further reducing civilian transportation resources. These transformations have led to a decrease in the transfer capacity of large equipment in some core ports in Europe, requiring companies to re plan transfer routes, increasing the complexity and cost of transportation processes.
The rift in the US Europe NATO relationship is difficult to heal in the short term, and the stalemate in the Iran conflict has also made the shipping situation full of variables. This uncertainty has made companies increasingly cautious about cross-border transportation decisions for large equipment. On the one hand, the game between the United States and Europe may lead to increased trade barriers. If European countries further adjust their import and export policies, it will affect the export transportation of equipment such as rotary drilling rigs to Europe; On the other hand, the erosion of trust within NATO has led to disorderly allocation of shipping resources and the transformation of port functions, making it difficult to control the timeliness and cost of transporting large equipment. Many construction machinery companies have begun to slow down their export plans to Europe and the Middle East, prioritizing low-risk transportation routes and cooperation models. Some signed export orders for rotary drilling rigs have been forced to adjust their delivery cycles.
Faced with the dual challenges brought by the rift in US Europe NATO relations and the Iran conflict, engineering machinery export enterprises and logistics enterprises need to proactively adjust their strategies to reduce shipping risks. One is to closely monitor the dynamics of the US European game and the situation in the strait, timely grasp information on routes, ports, oil prices, etc., and lock in cabin space and fuel costs in advance; The second is to optimize transportation routes, reduce dependence on the Strait of Hormuz and some transformed ports in Europe, and rely on diversified channels such as China Europe freight trains to transport rotary drilling rigs and accessories; The third is to strengthen cooperation with insurance institutions, improve the risk protection system, and cope with the high insurance costs and transportation risks of enterprises; The fourth is to draw on advanced industry experience, optimize the packaging and transportation plan of rotary drilling rigs, improve transit efficiency, reduce transportation costs, and maximize the impact of geopolitical games.
