Shipping through Jebel Ali fell sharply after the Strait of Hormuz was blocked in the early weeks of the Iran conflict. The port and its free-trade zone account for more than a fifth of Dubai’s GDP, and operators are exploring alternatives that may not match Jebel Ali’s integrated system.
DP World is pursuing alternatives, including two new terminals in Fujairah and expanded overland logistics, but analysts say Fujairah cannot easily replicate Jebel Ali’s combined port, business network, and transport links.
The shock to vessel flows is driving carriers and ports to re-route and reconfigure supply chains, raising insurance and logistics costs and prompting long-term shifts in Gulf hub strategy.
Jebel Ali, the largest shipping hub in the Middle East, has come under its most serious strain in decades amid the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times (FT) reported. According to the British newspaper, in the early weeks of the conflict around Iran, shipping through the port that has driven Dubai's transformation into one of the world's great commercial hubs declined more than 90%. Volumes plunged as 17 vessels a day on the average transited in the week to August 28, compared to 135 a day before the United States launched the war on Iran, the FT wrote.
Middle East's biggest shipping hub at risk amid Hormuz blockade — FT.
Before the conflict, Jebel Ali was the busiest container port outside of Asia, ranking in the top 10 globally and serving mostly as a transshipment hub.
The closure of the Hormuz Straits, now approaching its eighth month, has been predicted to lead to the permanent loss transhipment traffic for the Gulf’s two largest container facilities, Jebel Ali and Khalifa. Prior to the outbreak of the US-Israel-Iran conflict, the two UAE ports were a favoured waypoint for relay tr
The collapse of Omani-led talks to resolve the Straits of Hormuz passage, which were due to take place in Salalah yesterday, will deal another blow to Middle East shippers now struggling with the highest container shipping costs on record. The US-Israel-Iran conflict is now into its seventh month and has effectively cl
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By Florence Tan SINGAPORE, Sept 21 (Reuters) - A total of 17 commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on the weekend, down from 37 a week earlier, shipping data showed on Monday, as tension in the Gulf persisted with the US and Iran in stalemate. Visible traffic through the strait, the conduit for a fifth of th
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