Overview
- Maersk reported first-quarter results Thursday with underlying EBITDA of about $1.75 billion, a roughly 35% drop year over year, and kept its full-year guidance.
- CEO Vincent Clerc said the conflict has created about $500 million in extra monthly costs at around $100 oil and that the company will pass much of this on through higher prices.
- Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains near a standstill, though a Maersk-operated U.S.-flagged ship transited with U.S. military escorts this week before President Trump paused the effort.
- Clerc said eight Maersk ships remain stuck in the Persian Gulf, and the risk environment stayed fragile after CMA CGM reported a hit on one of its vessels that injured crew.
- Ongoing risks in Hormuz and the Red Sea are forcing reroutes around Africa, which lengthens voyages, raises fuel and insurance costs, and slows deliveries for both commercial goods and aid.