Strait of Hormuz transit not yet possible, major shipping company says

One of the world’s largest container shipping firms on Tuesday said transits through the Strait of Hormuz are not yet possible a day after the U.S. began escorting vessels through the vital waterway.

“At this point in time our risk assessment remains unchanged,” German company Hapag-Lloyd AG said in a statement, as reported by The Associated Press. “Transits through the Strait of Hormuz are for the moment not possible for our ships.”

The U.S.-Israeli war in Iran has roiled global energy markets, in large part because of Tehran’s closure of the strait since the conflict began. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through the shipping lane in peacetime, but vessels are now fearful of coming under attack should they move through it.

Hapag-Lloyd in early March announced it was “suspending all vessel transits through the waterway until further........

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