When Lori Ann LaRocco announced the debut of the Containers Don’t Lie Maritime Symposium last week, the timing could not have been more pointed. Vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz have dropped approximately 90% from a historical average of around 138 per day following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February. Maersk, CMA CGM, MSC, Cosco, and Hapag-Lloyd have all suspended new bookings across a wide range of Gulf destinations, and major lines are invoking force majeure provisions in their bills of lading, a move that could leave shippers with limited recourse over diversions, delays, and surcharges they did not budget for.

According to maritime intelligence firm Linerlytica, the stranded ships represent a fraction of the 3.4 million TEU in total capacity that operates on routes passing through the Strait of Hormuz, roughly 10% of the global container fleet. The IMO has confirmed at least 18 attacks on vessels across the Gulf since the war began. “The emergence of asymmetric threats, including unmanned attack capabilities, has fundamentally altered the risk environment,” said SV Anchan, chairman of global shipping and logistics conglomerate Safesea.

LaRocco is a former senior editor and global supply chain reporter at CNBC, where she covered trade and logistics for more than two decades. She is also a published author whose books include Trade War: Containers Don’t Lie, Navigating the Bluster, Dynasties of the Sea: The Untold Stories of the Postwar Shipping Pioneers, and Thriving in the New Economy: Lessons from Today’s Top Business Minds. The symposium name draws directly from her book and the reporting philosophy behind it: that container data tells the truth about global trade regardless of what politicians say.

It is against that backdrop that she is convening a high-trust alternative to the standard conference circuit. CDL 2026 brings together more than 200 CEOs, CFOs, Chief Supply Chain Officers, policymakers, and institutional investors on June 1 and 2, 2026, at the Marriott Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., under Chatham House Rules. Attendees can speak without attribution. The program covers supply chain resilience, geopolitical risk, trade finance, and emerging technologies.

“At a time when supply chains are under unprecedented pressure, this symposium creates a space for real conversations and real solutions,” LaRocco said. “The most important insights emerge when leaders can speak openly, challenge assumptions, and collaborate on what comes next.”

Through the Iran conflict she has reported that hundreds of thousands of containers are in limbo after ocean carriers suspended cargo bookings to Arabian container ports, with an estimated $10 billion worth of cargo stranded at ports or in the Arabian Gulf. Analysts warn that even if the Strait reopens, turmoil would persist for months, making the June timing relevant well beyond the current news cycle.

More information is available at containersdontlie.com.