Hormuz is disrupted, Jebel Ali keeps working, and there is a route around the strait

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen sharply during the 2026 disruption, well below its normal daily average of vessel transits. The Red Sea approach past the Bab el-Mandeb strait has been disrupted in parallel. Together these are the two maritime chokepoints that govern how cargo reaches and leaves the Gulf, and both have been under pressure at the same time.

This is a routing problem, not a reason to stop shipping. Carriers reschedule, re-route and adjust, and the Gulf's main container hub has kept operating throughout. What changes for a shipper is transit time, sailing frequency and cost, not the ability to move cargo.

According to DP World, reported by UAE outlets, Jebel Ali port is fully operational with no infrastructure damage, while inbound vessel traffic has declined during the disruption. The rating agency Moody's noted that interruptions to Hormuz shipping since early 2026 have weighed on Jebel Ali cargo volumes and earnings.

DP World's own half-year 2026 results show the pattern: group revenue rose 13.1% to $12.7 billion, while first-half profit fell about 39% as it managed the disruption, and container volumes excluding Jebel Ali grew 6.5%. The hub is working; the strait is the constraint, and the company has said it expects Hormuz to reopen and is staying flexible to keep cargo moving.

The structural answer is already being built. DP World agreed to develop the Al Rugaylat container and multi-purpose terminal and the Dibba general cargo terminal at Fujairah, on the UAE's Gulf of Oman coast, under a 50-year concession. Fujairah sits outside the Strait of Hormuz, so cargo can reach the UAE without transiting the strait at all.

The plan raises DP World's UAE container capacity from 19.4 million to nearly 22 million TEU, and Moody's has described the Fujairah expansion as strengthening the resilience of UAE trade. For a shipper it means a second Emirati gateway that a service can call without entering Hormuz.

Our UAE-to-Syria lane runs on Jebel Ali: consolidation of several suppliers, re-export out of the Jebel Ali Free Zone, and onward movement by sea to Latakia or Tartous or by road through Saudi Arabia and Jordan. That model is intact. What we adjust with each booking is the sailing and the relay.

Where a service is affected by the strait, cargo can route via Fujairah as it comes online, and the Gulf road corridor through Saudi Arabia and Jordan is a land alternative that does not depend on a Hormuz sailing at all. We name the gateway, the relay and the road option in the quote, and we plan the document file so a longer transit does not turn into a longer clearance.

Jebel Ali being fully operational with reduced inbound traffic, the Moody's assessment, and DP World's statement that it expects Hormuz to reopen are as reported by UAE outlets (Zawya, Khaleej Times) and DP World.

The DP World half-year 2026 figures and the Fujairah terminal concession (Al Rugaylat and Dibba, 19.4 to ~22 million TEU) are as reported by DP World, The National, Gulf News and Khaleej Times. This note is for shipment planning, not investment or political commentary.

Read the Fujairah terminals report · Read the DP World results