12 MARCH 2026AlCircle.com
Middle East disturbed: 350 dry bulk vessels restricted, 9% of global aluminium at risk & some buyers pay over $5,000/t
Edited by : Pratyusha Chatterjee
9 min read
The global economy is staring at a supply shock triggered by a waterway barely 33 kilometres wide at its narrowest point. The Strait of Hormuz, sitting between Iran, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, has become the most dangerous chokepoint in global trade since the beginning of March.
The waterway handles roughly 20 per cent of global seaborne oil flows, but its role in the aluminium value chain is increasingly critical. The Middle East now hosts around 7 million tonnes of aluminium smelting capacity, equivalent to about 9 per cent of global supply.
When shipping through Hormuz slows, it affects two directions simultaneously:
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