Overview
- Container traffic to Jebel Ali has fallen by about 90 percent since the conflict closed the Strait of Hormuz, leaving the port operating far below its 19.4 million TEU capacity and handling roughly 374,000 TEUs in Q2 2026.
- DP World is keeping Jebel Ali fully staffed and ready to resume operations, absorbing roughly $100 million a month in operating costs so the port can return to full capacity within 48 hours if shipping resumes.
- Shippers are unloading at Fujairah and Khor Fakkan and moving cargo across the UAE by road, a process that creates long truck queues and raises logistics costs by roughly four to five times compared with direct sea calls through Hormuz.
- DP World has an agreement in principle to develop two eastern terminals at Al Rugaylat and Dibba to provide an alternate maritime gateway, but their combined container capacity will be only a fraction of Jebel Ali’s.
- ADNOC is building a second west‑to‑east oil pipeline to double exports via Fujairah with operation expected in 2027, and continuing attacks on ships at sea underscore persistent security risks that could prolong higher costs and strain Dubai’s economy, which depends heavily on the Jebel Ali ecosystem.