Hapag‑Lloyd is facing an additional US$40–US$50 million in weekly costs due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, an expense that is "not sustainable" for long, Chief Executive Rolf Habben Jansen said.

The CEO of the German shipping line made the comment during an earnings call, saying the company is facing "a big challenge" as six of its vessels — carrying 150 crew members — remain stranded in the Persian Gulf. He asaid the crews are being supplied with food and water and that efforts are underway to secure the release of the vessels.

Habben Jansen noted that the conflict has sharply increased operating costs, led primarily by rising bunker fuel prices, higher war-risk insurance premiums, container storage fees and inland transport costs for the world's fifth-largest container line.

"Costs are increasing sharply," he said. "If we look at the impact that this has on us, then we talk easily about US$40 million or US$50 million per week that we are facing at this point in time."

The carrier has introduced contingency and emergency fuel surcharges to help recover those costs, though any return typically comes with a delay.

Habben Jansen also told German broadcaster ntv that the situation "is not something that you can sustain for very long," noting that Hapag‑Lloyd is facing tens of millions of dollars in additional costs each week as regional disruptions continue.

Hapag‑Lloyd is also watching the war's impact on fuel availability. "We are definitely looking into that, because we also see that there is potentially a risk of shortage," Habben Jansen said. "Asia is not one of our biggest bunkering locations, but it is certainly something to keep an eye on."

The carrier has halted transits not only through the Strait of Hormuz but also via the Red Sea–Suez route, where Houthi forces have threatened renewed attacks in support of Iran. As a result, Hapag-Lloyd is unable to call ports inside the Gulf, though it continues to serve Salalah and Jeddah. Roughly half of its contracted volumes in region are exposed to the disruption. 

Habben Jansen said the Red Sea is unlikely to reopen anytime soon, and that a largely closed corridor remains the most realistic scenario through 2026.

2026 outlook amid Middle East disruptions

Nonetheless, despote the disruption brought by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East — triggered by the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran's retaliation, which has since widened to involved other states in the region — Hapag-Lloyd reaffirmed its 2026 guidance, with Habben Jansen saying he remains confident the extra costs can be balanced out in the months ahead.

For 2026, Hapag-Lloyd expects earnings ⁠before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) to be in the range of US$1.1 billion to US$3.1 billion and the outlook for earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) range from a loss of US$1.5 billion to a profit of US$0.5 billion, though the company said in a statement that "this outlook remains subject to considerable uncertainty due to the highly volatile development of freight rates and the conflict in the Middle East."

"At the beginning of 2026, adverse weather conditions weighed on our performance and the conflict in the Middle East is now causing considerable network disruptions and sharply increasing operational costs," Habben Jansen said.

"Against this backdrop, we expect earnings in 2026 to be lower than in 2025. We will leverage increasing synergies from our Gemini network and accelerate our cost savings initiatives to counter these headwinds," he added, noting that Hapag-lloyd will maintain its growth trajectory by expanding our terminals portfolio under the Hanseatic Global Terminals brand and working decisively toward a successful completion of our merger agreement with ZIM.

Higher performance in 2025

For fiscal year 2025, Hapag-Lloyd Group's EBITDA stood at US$3.6 billion and EBIT reached US$1.1 billion, while profit amounted to US$1.0 billion — sitting at the upper end of the earnings forecast, but below the previous year, particularly owing to lower freight rates and higher operational costs.

"2025 was a good year for Hapag-Lloyd with solid results. We have grown our volumes and outperformed the market," Habben Jansen said in a statement.

He said that Hapag-Lloyd's Gemini network delivered 90% schedule reliability and customer satisfaction reached another record high and that the carrier invested significantly in fleet efficiency and modernization to further decarbonize its operations.

Additionally, Hapag-Lloyd's rowing terminals portfolio increasingly contributed to the success of our liner business.

In 2025, Liner Shipping revenue climbed to US$20.6 billion in 2025, but EBITDA and EBIT fell to US$3.5 billion and US$1.0 billion as lower freight rates and higher disruption‑related costs offset volume growth. Gemini savings began to materialize in the second half.

Terminal & Infrastructure revenue rose to US$514 million, with EBITDA steady at US$152 million and EBIT down to US$66 million due to ramp‑up and operational costs.