Iran-Israel conflict: Shipping industry set for tougher times ahead due to West Asia tensions, say experts
global maritime industry is set for tougher and more challenging times after Iran ramped up West Asia tensions by launching an unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel, causing supply chain disruption and increasing the probability of choking shipping routes, experts here have said. Iran's attack on Israel marks a distinct escalation in hostilities by bringing the two nations into direct conflict.
Iran and its proxies launched 330 missiles and drones on Israel late on Saturday night in retaliation to an alleged attack by Israel on a diplomatic mission of the Islamic Republic in Damascus on April 1 in which several people, including two top commanders, were killed.
There is a concern about the probability of a Persian Gulf shutdown, though many maintain hope of defusing fierce tension in the region, a delegate at the opening of Singapore Maritime Week on Monday, told PTI.
The Persian Gulf is a Mediterranean Sea in West Asia. It is connected to the Gulf of Oman in the east by the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most strategically important choke points.
The diversion of each ship is estimated to cost USD 30 million through the Cape of Good Hope from the Suez Canal, according to Danish Sultan, managing director of PacMarine Services in Singapore.
The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia.
«With 80-85 per cent of the global cargo transported by ships, the shipping industry will
