Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2026-03-31 Origin: Site
On March 30th local time, the Iranian parliament passed a bill to charge for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz and prohibit US and Israeli ships from passing. The US immediately threatened to "completely destroy" Iran's oil facilities, and the Israeli military also turned to attacking Iran's economic targets. The prospects for US Iran negotiations are unclear. Affected by this, international oil prices surged sharply, and Brent crude oil futures prices surged again. As a global energy and trade throat, the deteriorating situation in the Strait of Hormuz directly impacts the global shipping logistics of large engineering equipment such as rotary drilling rigs and pile drivers, putting comprehensive pressure on costs, timeliness, transportation capacity, and risks.
The sharp rise in international oil prices, coupled with Iran's plan to charge tolls through the strait, has led to a new high in transportation costs for large equipment. Heavy load equipment such as rotary drilling rigs and pile drivers rely on heavy lift ships and semi submersible ships for transportation, with fuel costs accounting for over 30%. Brent crude oil approaching conflict highs has driven the price of marine fuel to soar, and shipping companies have urgently raised fuel surcharges. At the same time, Iran plans to impose graded fees on passing ships, with single ship fees for ordinary countries reaching up to 150000 to 200000 US dollars. Coupled with the soaring war risk rates, the comprehensive cost of transporting large equipment across oceans has significantly increased, further squeezing the profit margins of equipment exporters and logistics companies.
The escalation of control over the Iran Strait and the US military threat have led to a sharp drop in traffic volume in the Strait of Hormuz, with a large number of ships stranded or forced to detour. The transportation of equipment such as rotary drilling rigs and pile drivers cannot pass through the core waterway normally, and some routes are forced to detour around Cape of Good Hope, resulting in an extended voyage of 14-40 days and a significantly longer transportation cycle. At the same time, ships are slowing down to control fuel consumption, coupled with port congestion and reduced loading and unloading efficiency. The on-time delivery rate of equipment transportation continues to decline, making it difficult to match the construction progress of overseas infrastructure projects, and increasing the risk of project delays and defaults.
Under the dual pressure of high oil prices and waterway risks, the dedicated transportation capacity for large equipment transportation has been further tightened. Shipping companies have temporarily suspended the release of idle heavy transport capacity, reduced high-risk flight schedules, and the special cabin space for oversized equipment such as rotary drilling rigs and pile drivers has become increasingly tight. The previously slightly alleviated problems of booking difficulties and long waiting times have once again become prominent. The waiting period for equipment transportation has been extended again, and the efficiency of cross-border circulation of global infrastructure equipment has been hindered. Some overseas infrastructure projects have been forced to stop due to the inability of equipment to arrive on time.
The escalation of the Middle East conflict has pushed up shipping geopolitical risks, and insurance costs for the transportation of large equipment continue to soar. The rates for war risk and political risk insurance have skyrocketed from 0.25% before the war to 5% -10% of the ship's value, significantly increasing the overall transportation cost. At the same time, the congestion in ports around the Strait of Hormuz has not eased, and the detention time of large equipment has been prolonged. Equipment such as rotary drilling rigs and pile drivers have large volumes and high storage requirements, resulting in high storage costs during the detention period. There are also risks of component corrosion, collision and loss, and hidden logistics costs are high.
The prospects of the US Iran negotiations are uncertain, the risk of conflict escalation still exists, and the operation of the large-scale equipment shipping and logistics industry is becoming increasingly conservative. Logistics companies will not adjust their transportation capacity and route planning for the time being, and will continue to retain alternative detours. They will hedge cost pressures by locking in long-term fuel contracts, optimizing equipment modular transportation, and increasing full load rates. Equipment exporters have also slowed down the pace of overseas order delivery, prioritizing the supply of core markets. The industry as a whole adheres to a stable operational approach, waiting for the situation to become clear before optimizing transportation layout.
