Around $125 Billion of Vessels, Cargo Remain Stranded in Persian Gulf, Allianz Says

Shipping chokepoint under strain

Allianz Commercial says about $125 billion worth of vessels and cargo remain stranded in the Persian Gulf after the Strait of Hormuz disruption, a sign that the crisis has become a major shipping and insurance problem as well as a security one.

The insurer said around 1,150 cargo-carrying vessels are affected. It also said as many as 20,000 seafarers remain stranded in the region, facing prolonged exposure to threat and mental strain while ships wait for conditions to improve.

The estimate underscores the scale of the bottleneck at one of the world’s most important maritime passages. The Strait of Hormuz is a critical route for energy and container traffic moving in and out of the Persian Gulf, so even a temporary interruption can affect large volumes of trade.

How the disruption developed

The latest Allianz estimate follows the closure of the strait and reported mining that disrupted traffic through the waterway. That combination has kept a large number of cargo vessels from moving normally, leaving high-value goods immobilized in the region.

The Financial Times earlier reported that more than 1,200 cargo ships were stranded with goods worth around $125 billion, citing Allianz. WSJ later reported the same value, saying about $125 billion of vessels and cargo remain stranded, with around 1,150 cargo vessels affected.

The slightly different vessel counts point to the same core conclusion: the disruption is large enough to tie up a major share of regional shipping capacity and create an unusually expensive backlog for operators and insurers.

Insurers and operators adjust

Thomas Lillelund, chief executive of Allianz Commercial, said the shipping industry has moved from a relatively stable environment into a more complex and volatile one. Allianz said marine insurance has remained available during the conflict, but hull and cargo premiums are higher.

That matters because insurance costs shape whether ships can move, how quickly cargo can be rebooked and how aggressively operators are willing to return to the route. In practice, the elevated premiums add another layer of friction on top of the physical disruption in the waterway.

Allianz also warned that even if peace holds and the strait reopens, traffic will not automatically return to prior levels. The company said strong security assurances would be needed before shipping firms are comfortable resuming normal operations.

Seafarers and evacuation plans

Separate reporting has focused on the people caught in the middle of the disruption. Axios reported that the International Maritime Organization is planning to evacuate more than 11,000 stranded sailors from the Strait of Hormuz.

That report said nearly 600 ships were unable to move and that some oil transport had begun to resume. It also quoted IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez as saying 14 seafarers have died during the conflict.

The evacuation effort, if carried out at scale, would address one of the most immediate human costs of the standoff. For now, though, the core problem remains unresolved: vessels are still blocked, crews remain stranded and the logistics of moving people and cargo safely remain uncertain.

What happens next

The key open questions are whether the IMO evacuation has started in practice, how many sailors would be moved first and whether Oman, Iran or the United States will issue any formal safe-passage guarantees.

Another question is whether traffic through Hormuz increases enough to change the stranded-vessels estimate in the coming days. Any meaningful reopening would need to restore confidence not just that ships can pass, but that they can do so without a renewed security shock.

For now, the disruption is still active. High-value cargo remains immobilized, premiums are elevated and shipping firms are being forced to plan for a route that may reopen only gradually, if at all.