Overview
- Closure of the Strait of Hormuz pushed ships to Pakistani waters in March 2026, driving an unusual spike in petroleum cargo and containers.
- Port Qasim handled about 450,000 metric tons across 17 vessel calls in March, including roughly 417,000 tons of fuels via the FOTCO terminal and about 33,000 tons of LPG.
- To keep traffic moving, Port Qasim enabled night navigation for LPG carriers, upgraded vessel tracking, linked with national trade systems, used marginal wharves, and drew on storage exceeding 295,000 tons.
- Karachi Port Trust reported 165,476 tons handled in a recent 24-hour window, and private terminals processed 8,313 transshipment containers since March 1.
- Origins spanned Fujairah in the UAE, Sohar in Oman, Yanbu in Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Iraq, bunkering picked up at both ports, and analysts caution the boost may prove temporary without sustained gains in speed and cost.