In March 2026, the words “force majeure” began cascading through carrier customer advisories as the Strait of Hormuz crisis erupted. CMA CGM declared that its vessel diversions were subject to “applicable force majeure provisions.” Maersk, MSC, and other major lines cited force majeure and the need to protect crew and cargo safety.
Most shippers read those advisories and did not know what they meant for their freight — or their contracts.
This is not a new pattern. Carriers invoked force majeure provisions during the Red Sea crisis in 2023 and 2024. They invoked them during COVID. They invoke them during severe weather events that close ports or make routing impractical. And every time they do, shippers who have not read their bill of lading clauses discover — too late — that their recourse is significantly more limited than they assumed.
Understanding what force majeure actually means in a shipping contract, when it applies, and what your rights are when a carrier invokes it is essential knowledge for any business moving cargo internationally.
What Force Majeure Actually Means in Shipping
Force majeure is a contractual clause that excuses a party from fulfilling their obligations when extraordinary events beyond their control make performance impossible or impractical.
A qualifying force majeure event must be unforeseen, unavoidable, and make contract performance impossible — not merely difficult or expensive. That last distinction matters enormously. A carrier who faces higher costs by rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope instead of transiting the Suez Canal has not been made to perform impossibly — the cargo can still move. The question is whether the bill of lading clause is drafted broadly enough to cover increased cost and inconvenience, or narrowly enough to require genuine impossibility.
The specific wording determines which events activate the clause. Force majeure is not implied into contracts under English law — which governs most international bills of lading. If the clause does not exist in the contract, neither does the protection.
The Bill of Lading Clauses Every Shipper Should Read
Your bill of lading is not a receipt. It is a contract — and the clauses inside it determine what a carrier can do with your cargo, what you can claim when something goes wrong, and how much protection you actually have when a crisis activates the extraordinary provisions most shippers have never read. These are the three clauses that matter most right now.
The Force Majeure Clause
Most carrier bills of lading contain a force majeure clause — but its scope varies significantly between carriers and between contract types. Some clauses are drafted broadly enough to cover any event that the carrier deems to affect the safety of the vessel or cargo. Others are narrower, requiring proof that the event directly prevented performance and that the carrier could not reasonably avoid the effects.
The Strait of Hormuz crisis of 2026 activated force majeure clauses across multiple carriers. Whether those activations were valid depended on the specific wording of each carrier’s bill of lading — which is exactly why shippers who had not read those clauses had no framework for evaluating the carrier’s position.
The Deviation Clause
The deviation clause gives the carrier the right to depart from the agreed route under defined circumstances — typically for the safety of the vessel, crew, or cargo. Carriers rerouting from the Red Sea via the Cape of Good Hope are invoking this clause, whether or not force majeure applies.
A carrier’s right to deviate for safety reasons is generally well-established. But the rights that follow from deviation — whether the carrier can charge additional freight for the longer route, whether delivery timelines are adjusted, and whether the shipper has any claim for additional costs incurred — depend entirely on what the bill of lading says about deviation and its consequences.
The War Risk Clause
War risk clauses give the carrier additional rights when a voyage crosses a designated war risk area. If the war risks clause is invoked and the cargo is discharged at an alternative port, the owner may be entitled to additional freight depending on whether the substitute port is within the range specified in the contract.
The Joint War Committee’s high-risk-area listing is the trigger for many war risk clauses. As long as the southern Red Sea remains on the JWC’s high-risk list — unchanged as of April 2026 — those clauses remain triggered on voyages through that corridor.
What Happens to Your Cargo When a Carrier Invokes Force Majeure
Knowing that force majeure has been invoked is only the first step. The practical consequences for your specific shipment depend on what the clause actually authorizes — and those consequences can range from a delivery delay to cargo discharged in a country you never planned to ship to. Here is what to expect.
The Carrier May Discharge at an Alternative Port
Carriers often include clauses in their bills of lading that allow them to offload cargo at an alternative port if the intended voyage was frustrated or substantially hindered. Delivering to an alternative port without the bill of lading permitting it may constitute a breach of contract — but if the clause exists, the carrier may have the right to discharge your cargo at a port that is not your intended destination.
This means your cargo could end up in a different country than planned, requiring you to arrange onward transportation at your own expense. The additional cost of that onward movement — transshipment fees, new drayage, port storage — falls on you unless the contract specifically allocates it to the carrier.
You May Have No Claim for Delay
If force majeure is validly invoked, the carrier’s liability for delay is typically suspended or eliminated for the duration of the event. A shipment that was supposed to arrive in 21 days and arrives in 45 days because of a Hormuz diversion around Africa may generate no enforceable claim against the carrier if the force majeure clause was validly triggered.
Your Insurance Position Matters
Force majeure and insurance serve different functions. Force majeure excuses contractual performance without liability. Insurance compensates for losses. Cargo war-risk policy surcharges for transits through listed areas peaked at $200 to $400 per TEU in early 2024 and have settled at roughly $50 to $100 per TEU in 2026 — a cost that reflects the ongoing risk premium the market assigns to these routes.
Review both your contract’s force majeure clause and your insurance policy to understand your complete risk protection — because the contract tells you what the carrier owes you, and the insurance policy tells you what you can recover regardless of what the carrier owes.
Three Things to Do Before Your Next International Shipment
Read your carrier’s bill of lading — specifically the force majeure, deviation, and war risk clauses — before the cargo moves, not after an advisory arrives. Confirm your cargo insurance covers the routes you are using and the war risk areas those routes may pass through. And build delivery timeline flexibility into customer commitments on international shipments that transit high-risk corridors — because force majeure events do not wait for convenient timing.
How Jansson LLC Helps U.S. Businesses Navigate International Freight Disruption
Understanding force majeure clauses does not prevent disruptions. Having a logistics partner who monitors route risk, communicates proactively when conditions change, and helps you evaluate your options when a carrier invokes extraordinary protections is what protects your supply chain when disruption arrives.
Jansson LLC is a Landstar freight agent with access to a nationwide carrier network — including experienced international freight operators who understand route risk, contract terms, and the logistics coordination that keeps freight moving when primary corridors are disrupted.
Contact Jansson LLC today. Let’s build the freight strategy that accounts for force majeure risk — before the next carrier advisory arrives in your inbox.
