JOHANNESBURG - Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, following conflict with the US and Israel.
The Gulf sea route handles about a fifth of the world's crude oil and Iran has threatened to fire any ship that passes through there.
READ: Maersk suspends vessel transit through Strait of Hormuz
Transnet National Port Authority said they are ready to handle any vessel diverted from Suez Canal route.
The Authority said it had not seen a spike in demand and had not received any additional berthing requests at the Port of Cape Town.
Despite this, they are ready to redeploy tugboats and pilot boats during periods of high demand.
They are monitoring the situation and working closely with shipping firms and other maritime authorities.
Ofentse Davhie from the Centre for Risk Analysis said the redirection of oil vessels from the Strait of Hormuz can, in the short-term, expect inflationary impact on petrol and diesel prices.
Davhie says South African can expect high volumes of activity at the Cape Port. Shipping company Maersk announced that they would reroute their fleet through the Cape.
He explains that ships that also normally go through the Red Sea will reroute south, which could be of huge economic benefit for South Africa.