You are using an outdated browser For a better experience using this site, please upgrade to a modern web browser. Subscribe Get Daily Email Subscribe --> Contact Us Sign in Home News & Features Compliance Costs Bunker Prices Bunker Intelligence EMEA News Latest Features World Americas EMEA Asia/Pacific Home News & Features EMEA 28 Container Ships Remain Impacted by Middle East Conflict 28 Container Ships Remain Impacted by Middle East Conflict by Ship & Bunker News Team Wednesday July 22, 2026 Tweet Follow @shipandbunker Alphaliner says some container ships have still managed to exit the region. File Image / Pixabay The Middle East conflict continues to impact container shipping, with at least 28 vessels still affected by the security situation, according to sector specialist Alphaliner . As of July 13 , the ships had a combined capacity of about 160,000 TEUs , it said in an emailed report today.   They include vessels sheltering from the conflict as well as ships diverted for operational reasons. The total is down by around 55,000 TEUs from Alphaliner's previous estimate two weeks earlier, as some vessels previously stranded in the region have managed to resume their voyages. Alphaliner cautioned that the actual figure may vary, as widespread AIS spoofing and signal deactivation in the region continue to make vessel tracking difficult. Although the vessels are not classified as commercially idle, they remain unavailable for commercial service, further tightening an already constrained container shipping market. Alphaliner's latest survey identified 76 commercially idle container ships with a combined capacity of around 197,000 TEUs , equivalent to just 0.6% of the global container fleet of 34 million TEUs . “Large ships remain in particularly tight supply, with only a single vessel above 18,000 TEU recorded as idle, Alphaliner said. “This, however, only reflected a brief wait for an upcoming service assignment and the ship is expected to drop