GPS News
TRADE WARS
Chinese shipping giant Cosco halts services to and from Gulf

Chinese shipping giant Cosco halts services to and from Gulf

by AFP Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Mar 4, 2026
Chinese shipping giant Cosco, which operates one of the world's biggest oil tanker fleets, announced it was suspending services to and from Gulf countries from Wednesday, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait.

The state-owned, Shanghai-based firm is among several major shipping groups that have halted vessel operations in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global energy transit.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed total control of the strait on Wednesday as Israel launched a new wave of strikes on the Iranian capital.

Cosco Shipping Lines said it would "suspend all new bookings" for routes through the Strait of Hormuz "with immediate effect until further notice".

The company blamed the disruption on "the escalating conflicts in the Middle East region and the resultant restrictions on maritime traffic" in the strait.

New worldwide bookings bound for Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and parts of the UAE and Saudi Arabia have been halted, the company said in a statement.

It has also suspended services from Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait and parts of the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia's Jeddah, along with the UAE's Khor Fakkan and Fujairah, are excluded from the suspensions and can be reached without passage through the Hormuz Strait.

Cosco said it was closely monitoring developments in the Middle East.

Other shipping giants including Maersk and MSC have also announced they have halted operations in the region.

Related Links
Global Trade News

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
TRADE WARS
Bolivians scramble to exchange banknotes after money plane crash
La Paz (AFP) Mar 3, 2026
Thousands of Bolivians rushed to banks on Tuesday to exchange banknotes at risk of being mistaken for money stolen from a military plane that crashed at the weekend, AFP reporters said. A Bolivian Air Force C-130 Hercules transport plane crashed after landing at El Alto International Airport on Friday, killing 24 people and showering the ground with banknotes. The aircraft was carrying 17.1 million notes of various denominations totaling 423 million bolivianos ($60.7 million), destined for the C ... read more

TRADE WARS
Trump issues order to support production of glyphosate

Regrowing marginal farmland can curb emissions without cutting food output

Coffee regions hit by extra days of extreme heat: scientists

Struggling farmers find hope in India co-operative

TRADE WARS
United Semiconductors secures Starlab payload capacity for in-space semiconductor crystal production

Malaysia anti-graft agency probes $280 mn govt deal with UK chip giant

Infleqtion lists shares on NYSE as neutral atom quantum firm

Samsung starts mass production of next-gen AI memory chip; Dutch court orders investigation into China-owned Nexperia

TRADE WARS
Dubai airport briefly suspends operations after interception

France's Dassault accuses Airbus of sabotaging European aircraft project

Flights to evacuate stranded travellers in Middle East

Airbus says will back two new European fighter jets 'if clients request'

TRADE WARS
UK dieselgate lawsuit enters final journey for carmakers

China space firm tests two seat flying car concept in Chongqing

China top court says drivers responsible despite autonomous technology

Mercedes-Benz net profit nearly halves amid China, US woes

TRADE WARS
Bolivians scramble to exchange banknotes after money plane crash

Equities plunge as energy prices soar on Mideast crisis

Asian equities in freefall as oil extends gains on Middle East crisis

China FM urges US to manage differences in face of trade woes

TRADE WARS
Deadly Indonesia floods force a deforestation reckoning

Sudan's historic acacia forest devastated as war fuels logging

Amazon deforestation drives hotter drier regional climate

Rome fells majestic pine trees near Colosseum

TRADE WARS
ASII launches national geospatial digital twin for Australian agriculture

New axis grid links complex earth data in space and time

Satellite radar maps reveal rapid delta land loss

Airbus and Hisdesat extend deal to market next generation PAZ-2 radar imagery

TRADE WARS
Ultrafast thermal detector pushes gigahertz performance frontier

Carbon fibers bend and straighten under electric control

Engineered substrates sharpen single nanoparticle plasmon spectra

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2026 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.