Israel-Iran War: China's Cosco Shipping Resumes UAE, GCC Bookings

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The Chinese shipping giant Cosco has resumed bookings for general cargo to the UAE and other Gulf countries after suspending services earlier this month due to the outbreak of a regional military conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran.

“We have resumed new bookings for general cargo containers for shipments from the Far East to the following countries in the Middle East via multimodal transport – UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, and Oman,” it said in a statement.

Iran blocked ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz after Israel-US attacks.

Adnoc CEO Sultan Al Jaber termed weaponising Hormuz strait as “economic terrorism”.

Subject to the situation in the Middle East and available space, Cosco Shipping Lines said it is booking local cargo to Abu Dhabi and Jebel Ali via the bonded land bridge through either Khorfakkan or Fujairah Port. It has also resumed bookings to upper Gulf countries via the bonded land bridge from either Khorfakkan or Fujairah Port to Abu Dhabi CSP, connecting to Cosco Shipping Lines' feeder network for transshipment to other parts of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Iraq.

Additionally, it has resumed bookings for Oman cargo transshipment via Nhava Sheva, India, to Sohar, Oman.

“Please note that the above new booking arrangement and the actual carriage are subject to change due to the volatile situation in the Middle East region.

“With respect to bookings for shipments from the Far East to the Middle East that our company had already accepted prior to the issuance of this Customer Advisory, the above-mentioned new booking arrangement shall in no event affect or prejudice our company's rights in relation to the transportation arrangements for such cargo already booked,” it said in a statement posted on its website.

On March 4, 2026, Cosco Shipping Lines suspended all new booking services from worldwide to the UAE (excluding Khorfakkan and Fujairah), Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (excluding Jeddah), and Kuwait.

It also suspended all new bookings from the UAE (excluding Khorfakkan and Fujairah), Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (excluding Jeddah), and Kuwait to other countries.

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