Iran Seizes Ships in Strait of Hormuz: What UAE Importers and Exporters Must Do Now

On April 22, 2026, Iran seized two commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz after firing on them, according to reports from Arabian Business and regional maritime authorities. The seizures mark a fresh escalation in the Strait of Hormuz. This is the narrow waterway between the UAE and Iran through which roughly 20% of global oil supply and a significant share of UAE import and export cargo passes every year.

For UAE business owners who import goods, export products, or rely on international shipping in any form, this is not background noise. It is a direct operational risk that affects your costs, your timelines, and potentially your ability to fulfil contracts.

This article covers what has happened, what it means in practical terms for UAE businesses, and the specific steps to take in the next few days and weeks.

What Happened on April 22

Iranian naval forces fired on two commercial vessels operating in the Strait of Hormuz and subsequently seized them. The vessels’ flags, cargo, and operators have not been publicly confirmed at the time of writing. This follows a period of elevated tension in the Gulf that has included disruption to shipping lanes and ceasefire negotiations.

The Strait of Hormuz is 33 kilometres wide at its narrowest point. There is no alternative deep-water route for vessels exiting the Persian Gulf. Ships that cannot use the Strait must take significantly longer routes around the Arabian Peninsula, adding 10 to 14 days to transit times and substantially increasing fuel costs.

Jebel Ali Port in Dubai is the world’s ninth-largest container port and the largest in the Middle East. It handles roughly 14 to 15 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year. A sustained disruption to Strait of Hormuz transit directly affects cargo moving through Jebel Ali.

The Immediate Effects on Shipping

War Risk Premiums

When vessels transit through waters where there is an active seizure risk, marine insurance underwriters apply war risk premiums on top of standard marine cargo rates. Following the April 22 seizures, expect these premiums to rise sharply.

In practical terms:

• Before the escalations of early 2026: War risk premiums for Gulf passage were approximately 0.05% to 0.1% of cargo value per transit.
• After the April 22 seizures: Brokers are reporting premiums rising to 0.3% to 0.6% and potentially higher for certain flags or routes.

For a shipment worth USD 500,000, the difference between 0.1% and 0.5% war risk premium is USD 2,000 in added insurance cost per transit. For businesses that ship frequently, this compounds quickly.

Freight Rate Increases

Shipping lines recalculate their rates when risk increases. During the 2024 Red Sea disruptions, major carriers added emergency surcharges of USD 1,500 to USD 3,000 per container. A sustained Hormuz closure or ongoing seizure threat will produce a similar effect in the Gulf.

Expect your freight forwarder or shipping line to issue surcharge notifications within 5 to 10 business days if the situation continues. Read every email from your logistics partners carefully over the next two weeks.

Delays

Even without physical route changes, vessel operators may reduce speeds, wait for convoy groupings, or choose departure timing that affects your arrival dates. If your business operates on tight stock levels or just-in-time supply chains, build additional buffer into your timeline assumptions immediately.

What This Means for Different Types of UAE Businesses

Importers of Physical Goods

If your business imports goods from Europe, Asia, or the Americas through UAE ports, your shipments must pass through or near the Strait of Hormuz. The main risks are:

• Higher freight costs passed on by shipping lines
• Delays at origin as vessels wait for risk clearance or convoy groupings
• Possible gaps in stock if delays are not anticipated

Action: Contact your freight forwarder today. Ask specifically whether any surcharges are being applied, whether vessels are operating to normal schedule, and what the current war risk status is for your cargo route.

Exporters from the UAE

If you export goods from the UAE to international buyers, you may face challenges getting vessels to accept cargo for certain routes if war risk is elevated. Buyers who have price-inclusive contracts (CIF terms) will expect you to absorb higher insurance and freight costs.

Action: Review all open export contracts. If you are quoting new contracts, use EXW or FOB terms where possible so shipping cost risk sits with the buyer. If you are on CIF terms, add a force majeure or escalation clause to any new agreements.

E-commerce Businesses

If you run a UAE-based e-commerce business that sources stock from China or elsewhere and ships through Gulf waters, review your supplier lead times. A 10 to 14 day shipping delay adds up to significant cash flow impact if you are carrying minimal buffer stock.

Action: Move any critical stock replenishment orders forward. Place restocking orders now for items that will take 45 to 60 days to arrive, rather than waiting until stock runs low.

Professional Services and Tech Businesses

If you do not deal in physical goods, the direct operational risk is low. But there are secondary effects worth watching:

• Fuel prices in the UAE may rise if oil export disruption persists, affecting your operating costs
• Regional economic uncertainty tends to slow deal cycles and client decision-making
• Currency stability: watch the AED and any exposure you have to other Gulf currencies

For context on how the wider regional tension has been affecting UAE business confidence and oil-linked economic indicators, see our Strait of Hormuz business impact analysis from April 10.

Insurance: What to Check Right Now

If you import or export physical goods, marine cargo insurance should already be in place. If it is not, this situation makes it urgent.

Check your policy covers war risk. Standard marine cargo policies (Institute Cargo Clauses A, B, or C) exclude war risk by default. War risk must be added as a separate extension, typically at additional premium. If your cargo is currently in transit or about to ship, and war risk is not on your policy, you have uncovered exposure.

Check your policy’s geographic exclusions. Some policies exclude specific war zones or high-risk areas. The Strait of Hormuz may now be named explicitly on exclusion lists from certain underwriters. Read your policy or call your broker today.

Check your business interruption cover. If you are a business whose trading significantly depends on goods arriving or shipping, do you have contingency cover for a prolonged disruption? Most standard BI policies do not cover supply chain delays caused by external geopolitical events unless specifically written in. Check.

For a full overview of UAE business insurance types and costs, see our UAE business insurance guide.

Contracts and Legal Risk

Force Majeure

If you have supply contracts with delivery obligations and you cannot fulfil them because of Strait of Hormuz disruption, you may be able to rely on a force majeure clause. However:

• Force majeure is not automatic. You need to check your contract language carefully.
• UAE law (Civil Transactions Law, Article 273) does recognise force majeure but requires the event to be unforeseeable and unavoidable. Courts will consider whether the regional tension was already publicly known at the time of contracting.
• You must notify counterparties promptly. Failing to notify quickly is often treated as waiving the right to claim force majeure.

If you have a contract you are concerned about, take legal advice immediately. Do not wait until the deadline.

Delivery Terms and Risk Transfer

International trade contracts define when risk transfers from seller to buyer using Incoterms. If your contracts use:

• CIF or CIP: You bear the risk and cost of insurance until the cargo reaches the named destination port.
• FOB or EXW: Risk transfers to the buyer earlier, reducing your exposure.

Review any new or outstanding contracts before goods ship and adjust terms where possible.

Practical Steps to Take This Week

1. Contact your freight forwarder. Get a written update on current surcharges, schedules, and route status. Ask specifically about Strait of Hormuz transits.

2. Contact your marine cargo broker or insurer. Confirm that war risk is included in your policy for active shipments. Get the war risk premium for any upcoming shipments you need to book.

3. Review open contracts. Identify any contracts where you have delivery obligations on incoming or outgoing shipments over the next 60 days. Flag any that are tight on timeline.

4. Review stock levels. If you carry physical inventory, check whether a 2 to 4 week delay on your next shipment would cause a stock-out. Move replenishment orders forward if it would.

5. Monitor shipping line communications. Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, and other major carriers will issue notices if they implement surcharges or route changes. Monitor their news pages.

6. Check your trade finance facilities. If you use letters of credit, documentary collections, or trade finance facilities, contact your bank to understand whether the terms remain valid if there is a significant force majeure event at sea. Some LC terms have strict shipping date requirements.

For an overview of importing and exporting procedures in the UAE, including customs, documentation, and logistics, see our UAE import and export guide.

What the UAE Government Is Doing

The UAE government has not made a formal statement on the April 22 seizures at the time of writing. Historically, the UAE has maintained a diplomatic and commercial approach to Strait of Hormuz disruptions, prioritising the free flow of trade and avoiding direct military escalation.

UAE ports, including Jebel Ali, have remained operational throughout the conflict period that began in late 2025. The UAE has significant financial incentives to keep its ports open: the maritime and logistics sector contributes materially to Dubai’s GDP and is central to the UAE’s ambition to remain the region’s primary trade hub.

ADNOC has previously stated publicly that it is managing oil exports through a combination of the Strait and the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP), which carries oil overland to Fujairah on the eastern coast, bypassing the Strait entirely. This alternative export route gives the UAE a meaningful degree of resilience on oil export volumes.

The Bigger Picture

The Strait of Hormuz situation is not new, but April 22’s seizures mark a specific escalation with direct operational consequences. The ceasefire analysis from earlier in April has proven incomplete: active naval incidents are still occurring.

For UAE businesses, the honest assessment is: this is a period of elevated risk that is likely to continue for weeks rather than days. The practical response is not to panic but to make specific, concrete adjustments to insurance cover, stock levels, contract terms, and communications with logistics partners. All of these are within your control.

The businesses that come through disruptions like this best are the ones that read the situation clearly, act early, and over-communicate with their supply chain partners. The businesses that struggle are the ones that assume everything will work out and only act when something has already gone wrong.

Act early.