Gulf conflict cuts Far East capacity by 14% year-on-year

Far East capacity serving the Indian Subcontinent, Middle East and Red Sea fell sharply in July amid widening Gulf security concerns, according to Alphaliner.

A review of the Far East – Indian Subcontinent/Middle East/Red Sea trade in late July shows deployed capacity fell by around 312,000 teu, or more than 14% year-on-year, to just under 1.9 Mteu.

Most of the reduction can be traced, directly or indirectly, to the widening Gulf conflict and carriers’ response to security concerns surrounding the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Middle East.

The largest individual capacity decline came from HMM, down around 115,000 teu, and SeaLead, which withdrew approximately 66,000 teu (see page 3).

Indeed, smaller players on the trade — those with a capacity share of less than 1%, including carriers like HMM and SeaLead that withdrew or ceased deploying tonnage on the route — accounted for almost 90% of the overall decline in capacity.

By contrast, the eighteen largest carriers on the trade (capacity share 1% or more) saw comparatively little aggregate change in capacity, despite substantial movements by individual operators.

CMA CGM recorded the largest increase, adding almost 70,000 teu, or close to 40%, compared with July 2025. COSCO Group (including OOCL) recorded the largest reduction among the trade’s top-18, cutting capacity by around 60,000 teu.

MSC retained its lead with a 3% capacity bump, despite reducing its vessel count from 25 to 18 ships.

Source: Alphaliner