The war against Iran is causing an air and shipping jam, but it will likely have little effect on the global technology market unless the conflict widens significantly, according to analysts.
“UAE is a major distribution hub for many products, including tech, in the region and since both airspace and likely port traffic are closed [or] limited, the local markets may face issues,” Jitesh Ubrani, research manager with IDC, told The Register. “But globally these represent a small portion of the market.”
Bombing raids by the US and Israel and Iran's retaliatory strikes have shut down critical logistics hubs for sea cargo and air traffic throughout the Middle East. US President Trump has said the dispute could last four to five weeks.
The ongoing attacks and counterattacks have left more than 500 people, including six US servicemembers, dead. As the grim ledger for the conflict builds, global shippers are carefully guarding their fleets and ports to protect workers and cargo from further collateral damage.
The Jebel Ali shipping terminal in Dubai was hit by debris from an intercepted missile that sparked a fire, and a dockworker was killed by incoming projectiles at a shipyard in Bahrain, which also injured two.
The International Maritime Organization’s secretary general Arsenio Dominguez condemned the violence, and urged all shipping companies to exercise maximum caution, and “avoid transiting the affected region until conditions improve.”
"I am deeply concerned by reports of at least one fatality and several seafarers injured in attacks on merchant vessels,” he wrote in a statement posted to the group’s web page. “No attack on innocent seafarers or civilian shipping is ever justified. These crews are simply doing their jobs and must be protected from the effects of wider geopolitical tensions.”
Several shipping companies have suspended or rerouted cargo travel in the region after the start of the bombing campaign and since Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatened ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Supply chain and shipping optimizer Flexport said that, by sea, expect transit times between Asia and Europe, and on certain Asia–U.S. East Coast lanes, to increase by 10 to 14 days as vessels detour around the Cape of Good Hope.
While IDC noted that most travel through those waters is related to oil and natural gas, one report says at least 150 ships were trapped after Iran’s warning was issued.
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