ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Gwadar port on Monday received its first transshipment vessel of May, the Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) said, amid disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz due to the United States-Iran tensions.
Iran has effectively maintained a stranglehold on the strait, a key waterway for global energy and cargo supplies, since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran on Feb. 28. The US last month imposed a counter-blockade on Iranian ports despite a ceasefire reached on April 8.
Pakistan has seen a surge in port activity as vessels divert from Gulf transshipment hubs due to disruptions caused by the US-Iran war and Tehran’s counterattacks on Israel as well as US and commercial interests in the Gulf, with cargo volumes rising sharply at key Pakistani ports.
GPA said a vessel, M.V. SHOU LONG 618, arrived and berthed at Gwadar port on Monday, carrying 16,077 metric tons of transshipment cargo that comprised 13,059 packages of Chinese-origin industrial equipment and pipes, originally destined for Kuwait.
“The cargo is being discharged at Gwadar Port following diversion from its intended route through the Strait of Hormuz,” the authority said in a statement.
“This call comes on the back of four transshipment vessel calls recorded at Gwadar Port during April 2026 — a sustained trend reflecting the port’s growing strategic role as an alternative routing hub for regional cargo amid ongoing navigational sensitivities in the Strait of Hormuz.”
Pakistan has sought to leverage the Iran war and its related marine disruptions to its advantage by aiming to position itself as a transshipment hub. Vessels, mostly carrying containerized cargo, are being diverted from major Gulf transshipment hubs including Jebel Ali, Fujairah and Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates and Salalah in Oman, according to officials.
The South Asian country was already working to upgrade its ports along the Arabian Sea while marketing them to landlocked Central Asian states as gateways for international trade when the United States and Israel started targeting Iran.
GPA said that Gwadar port continues to facilitate smooth berthing, cargo operations, and documentation for diverted vessels, reaffirming its’s operational readiness and capacity to serve as a reliable gateway for international trade under complex logistical conditions.
“The development underscores Gwadar’s emergence as a critical transshipment hub on the Arabian Sea, offering shippers a secure, efficient, and strategically located alternative for cargo bound for Gulf and regional markets,” it added.
