For months, ships and their crews have been facing extremely difficult and challenging circumstances in the Persian Gulf. Following the outbreak of hostilities in late February 2026 and the subsequent severe drop in traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, many ships already inside the Gulf have been unable to leave safely. Today, this remains the case for a large number of ships.
The situation is not simply one of physical closure. Beyond the restricted navigability of the Strait of Hormuz due to naval mines, owners and masters have assessed a complex and evolving threat landscape, including significant risks associated with missile and drone attacks, interference with navigation systems, and uncertainty regarding any security arrangements applicable to transits through the area.
The insurance position has added a further layer of difficulty. For ships already inside the Gulf, owners have faced the prospect of having to renew or replace cover at substantially increased cost, or of being unable to obtain adequate cover for the intended transit. Turning to contractual aspects, a range of charter party issues may have arisen, including owners’ rights to refuse orders, safe port and safe route obligations, alternative employment, applicability of force majeure clauses, deviation, delay, off-hire, redelivery, and the allocation of responsibility for additional war risk premiums and other associated costs.
The ongoing disruption in the Gulf has tested contractual frameworks in an environment where trading conditions could shift from one day to the next. While ensuring that the safety of the ship and crew remained the paramount consideration, the industry experience of ships restrained in the Gulf has underlined the importance of ensuring that charter parties provide a clear and commercially balanced framework for allocating rights, responsibilities, risks and additional costs. Some charter party disputes will ultimately be determined through arbitration or court proceedings. Others will be resolved amicably through dialogue, negotiated adjustments, and commercial solutions.
We are currently assessing whether contractual frameworks have responded sufficiently to the types of situations experienced in the Gulf. This assessment is not about commenting on the merits of individual disputes or bespoke clauses. Rather, it is about identifying where the contractual framework has operated as intended and considering whether any gaps, uncertainties, or unintended consequences have emerged in practice.
The industry insights gathered during this process will help us to determine whether the current contractual framework continues to provide sufficient clarity and an appropriate commercial balance, or whether we should address additional contractual aspects. This will also be a topic for discussion at our next BIMCO Documentary Committee meeting in early October 2026.
