The paralysis of the Strait of Hormuz since February 28 has forced a massive reconfiguration of global trade arteries. With the blockage of a corridor that manages 25% of the world’s maritime oil and critical volumes of liquefied natural gas (LNG), shipping companies have reactivated the route around the Cape of Good Hope. This strong change of course has increased transit at the southern tip of the continent by 90%, according to data from Rhenus Logistics. However, the inability of regional ports to absorb this flow has left centers like Durban or Cape Town on the sidelines of the economic benefits of the crisis. Operational limitations in southern Africa act as a systemic bottleneck. The combination of adverse weather and congestion, which was already hindering South Africa’s competitiveness, prevents the increase in strong traffic from translating into actual port calls. According to market analysts, there is a disconnect between the volume of ships circumnavigating the continent and the activity at its docks. Major container lines between Asia and Europe prefer to maintain direct rotations to mitigate rising operational costs, avoiding the chronic delays of sub-Saharan infrastructures. Canarias as an alternative service In this scenario, the Canary archipelago emerges as the most reliable service hub on the Atlantic façade. Unlike enclaves in East Africa such as Djibouti or Port Sudan, whose revenues have collapsed due to their absolute dependence on the Suez Canal, the ports of Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, to a greater extent, are monetizing their responsiveness. Current demand is not focused on cargo handling — which maintains its final destinations in Northern Europe — but rather on bunkering, emergency repairs, and provisioning for voyages that are now significantly longer. The fuel supply market in the islands is bolstered by the risk premium in Gulf and South Asian ports, where strong instability has driven up maritime insurance costs. While ports like Port Louis in Mauritius or Walvis Bay in Namibia capture marginal fractions of resupply traffic, Canarias offers legal security and operational speed that give it a net competitive advantage. Shipping companies prioritize the reliability of Tenerife shipyards to offset the additional 10 to 15 days of navigation imposed by the conflict between the United States and Iran. The failure of regional hubs The current crisis has underscored the capacity gap between African ports and European control centers on the western coast. Logistic centers that traditionally aspired to strongly compete with the Spanish port system lack the agility needed to transform a disruption in global trade into positive cash flow. Most profits are concentrated in a handful of locations dedicated exclusively to vessel technical support, a high-margin niche where Canarias maintains its historical dominance. The closure of Hormuz demonstrates that geography is irrelevant without supporting infrastructure. African ports barely capture a residual fraction of business due to operational rigidity and lack of commercial incentives. For the Canary port sector, this shift in trade towards the Atlantic consolidates its role as a strategic service station. Africa’s inability to manage the detour around the Cape reaffirms the archipelago as the only viable financial and operational support point on the route connecting Asian markets with the Mediterranean.
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