Indonesia and Asia Expected to Be Most Affected by Energy Crisis Due to Iran War

Asia is assessed to bear the greatest impact from the energy crisis sparked by the United States-Israel war against Iran, following disruptions to global energy distribution and the closure of strategic oil shipping routes.

President of the global maritime analytics firm Kpler, Jean Maynier, stated that the Asian region faces the risk of energy supply shortages due to high reliance on imports.

“We think Asia will be the party suffering the most for now,” Maynier said in an interview with AFP in Singapore on Tuesday (31/3). He assessed that several Asian countries lack sufficient domestic energy resources to cover supply shortfalls.

According to him, major countries such as China, the Philippines, and Indonesia could face serious pressure if supply disruptions continue. Maynier described the situation as a “real energy crisis.”

The impact of Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz is already evident in several countries, including the Philippines, which has declared a national energy emergency status.

Kpler, a Brussels-based company founded in 2014 and recognised as one of the world’s leading institutions for tracking ships and commodity data, has been closely monitoring vessel movements in the Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel attacks on Iran on 28 February.

Kpler data shows that 17 commodity carrier ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, including 12 on Saturday, making it one of the busiest days since 1 March. However, overall ship traffic has been recorded as sharply declining.

As of 17:00 GMT on Monday or 00:00 WIB, only 196 commodity ships have crossed the route this month. Of that number, 120 are oil tankers and gas carriers, with the majority moving eastwards out of the strait.

Maynier stated that his side hopes political leaders can quickly find a solution to prevent a wider energy crisis.