{"text":[[{"start":11.1,"text":"The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has stranded more than 1,200 cargo ships carrying goods worth an estimated $125bn, according to new data, demonstrating the vulnerability of global commerce to a handful of strategic maritime chokepoints."}],[{"start":26.45,"text":"While ships have slowly started to move through the strait, estimates from the insurer Allianz published on Wednesday are the first to put a value on assets and cargo stuck for more than 100 days in the Gulf following the strikes on Iran in February. "}],[{"start":41.5,"text":"Allianz said the “unprecedented” closure of the strait raised “concerns about the future of global maritime trade”."}],[{"start":48.85,"text":"Justus Heinrich, head of marine underwriting at Allianz, told the FT the closure of the strait had changed the perception of risk in chokepoints for insurers."}],[{"start":58.85,"text":"“We were always talking about realistic disaster scenarios, and now we have a real disaster scenario like this one,” he said. “So I think it changes a bit the perception of actual operational risks from ‘it can theoretically happen’ to what we know now out of this situation.”"}],[{"start":74.5,"text":"Prior to the conflict around 135 vessels per day and a fifth of the world’s oil and gas passed through the strait. Its closure caused widespread ructions through energy markets and pushed up oil prices to more than $100 a barrel."}],[{"start":89.3,"text":"More than 40 ships have been hit by missiles, while 14 seafarers have been killed, according to International Maritime Organization data. The majority of ships impacted have been tankers."}],[{"start":101.2,"text":"The tentative peace agreement between the US and Iran has increased confidence among shipping companies to send vessels through the strait with a notable uptick in traffic since the deal was announced last Wednesday."}],[{"start":113.45,"text":"The number of ships crossing out of the Gulf increased to 69 in the week to June 21, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, up from 24 the previous week and the highest weekly number of crossings since the conflict began."}],[{"start":127.8,"text":"But despite the slow return of more ships to the waterway, shipping and logistics companies have said that they expect alternative routes into the Gulf, either via ports facing into the Gulf of Oman or Red Sea, or via land to become a more permanent fixture."}],[{"start":142.45,"text":"Several shipping executives have said they were likely to invest more in alternative routes into the Gulf now that Iran has demonstrated its ability to exert control over Hormuz."}],[{"start":152.6,"text":"Michael Aldwell, executive vice-president for sea logistics at Kuehne+Nagel, the world’s largest freight forwarder by volume, said that K+N estimated that around 300,000 twenty-foot equivalent containers, the standard measure of container freight, were still stuck in the Gulf and that land routes in and out of the region were “under a lot of strain”."}],[{"start":173.29999999999998,"text":"Not many perishable goods are exported from the Middle East, meaning that most of the cargo had either remained on board or been offloaded at local ports, Aldwell added."}],[{"start":182.95,"text":"Rahul Khanna, head of marine risk consulting at Allianz, said the insurer had already seen claims related to loss and damage to ships that had been hit by drones or missiles during the conflict and there could also be claims coming from cargoes of pharmaceuticals or frozen food that had perished."}],[{"start":199.85,"text":"The report also highlighted that 20,000 seafarers remained on ships in the Gulf. Seafarer abandonments — when shipowners refuse to pay wages or leave crew without sufficient supplies or support — had increased for the sixth year in a row in 2025, when it hit a record of more than 6,000."}],[{"start":219.95,"text":"“The shipping industry will struggle to retain and recruit seafarers at a time of growing demand for skilled workers, driven by automation and green transitions, ultimately threatening the sector’s resilience and global supply chain stability,” the report said."}],[{"start":235.7,"text":"The IMO on Tuesday estimated that 11,000 seafarers were looking to exit the Gulf and said it had established an evacuation corridor that would allow ships out in co-ordination with Oman."}],[{"start":258.54999999999995,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1782272914_3215.mp3"}