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DP World signs 50-year concession to develop new UAE terminal outside Hormuz

DP World confirmed today that it had reached an agreement with Fujairah Ports Authority to build two new terminals on the UAE's east coast - and outside of the Hormuz Strait - under a 50-year concession. The two facilities will be the Al Rugaylat container and multi-purpose terminal, and the Dibba General Cargo terminal, and in combination will increase DP World's total container handling capacity in the UAE from 19.4m teu to almost 22m teu, while significantly expanding general cargo and ro-ro capabilities. "Fujairah strengthens what Jebel Ali already delivers -- a single, global integrated platform for moving goods across global supply chains and within the UAE and beyond," Yuvraj Narayan, DP World's group chief executive officer said. "With Jebel Ali operating at high utilisation, this development provides the additional capacity to support long-term growth. "For cargo owners, it means greater flexibility, more choice and stronger supply chain resilience," he added. However, according to an Alphaliner analysis, both DP World's and AD Ports home terminals have seen traffic plummet since the outbreak of the US-Israel-Iran conflict. "Both of the UAE's main hubs in the Gulf, Jebel Ali in Dubai and the AD Ports-operated Khalifa Seaport in Abu Dhabi, have experienced a massive drop in activity since the Iran conflict escalated, which led to repeated closures (or de facto closures) of the Strait of Hormuz," Alphaliner said today. "Located outside the Gulf, Fujairah offers direct access to the Indian Ocean, making it a strategically important gateway for liner shipping." The project will establish a new deep-water trade gateway on the UAE's east coast, capable of handling the latest generation of Ultra Large Container Vessels, with the Al Rugaylat container terminal designed to handle up to 2.5m teu annually, alongside 1.7m tonnes of general cargo and 190,000 Car Equivalent Units (CEUs), Dibba will add up to a further 3.6m tonnes of annual general cargo capacity. "The partnership with DP World marks an important milestone in Fujairah's continued development as one of the region's most important maritime gateways," said Sheikh Saleh Bin Mohamed Al Sharqi, chairman of Fujairah Ports Authority. "The Al Rugaylat and Dibba terminals will bring world-class operating capability, expanded capacity and new investment to the emirate. "We look forward to working with DP World to deliver a project that will benefit customers, communities and the UAE's wider economy," he added. The new development, which is expected to take somewhere between two and two and a half years' to complete, will come alongside an expansion to Gulftainer's Khor Fakkan container terminal, as previously reported by The Loadstar, and means that since Iran first closed Hormuz around 7.5m teu of new terminal capacity outside Hormuz is now planned. "This development will add significant new capability to Fujairah's port infrastructure and enhance the range and quality of services we can offer to cargo owners and logistics customers," Captain Mousa Murad, Fujairah Ports Authority managing director, said "By combining Fujairah's strategic location with DP World's operating expertise, we aim to deliver modern, efficient terminals that support regional trade flows, strengthen connectivity and meet the highest international standards," he added. Meanwhile, DP World recently announced it had acquired 700 new trucks expressly for the purpose of operating landbridge container movements that are likely to be a foundation of the new terminal's cargo base.

The cost of non-compliance just escalated from 'line item to prison sentence'

In case you missed it. The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced last week the creation of the Global Trade & Commerce Enforcement Section (GTCES), a permanent prosecutorial unit housed within the National Fraud Enforcement Division (NFED), dedicated to: criminal investigation and prosecution of customs fraud; tariff evasion; smuggling; sanctions violations; and forced labor offenses across the international supply chain. The announcement, made at a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspection warehouse near Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, coincided with the ...

APAC-Europe air cargo volumes drop 15% year on year

Air cargo volumes between Asia Pacific and Europe have dropped, with ex China volumes taking a hit and ex Hong Kong volumes continuing to decline. For Asia Pacific as a whole, volumes to Europe were down 10% week on week and 15% year on year, shows figures from WorldACD Market Data. Volumes from e-commerce hotspot Hong Kong were down 23% year on year, after four consecutive week on week declines, according to the week 28 (6-12 July) figures from WorldACD. The decline followed the end of the EU's de minimis exemption and its introduction of a temporary €3 customs duty on low-value parcels imported from outside the EU as of 1 July. This decline in volumes reflected "the impact of the removal by the EU of de minimis import tariff exemptions since 1 July", said WorldACD. EU member states agreed in December to introduce the customs duty charge per item on parcels valued below €150. This is intended to bridge the gap until the EU Customs Data Hub is launched in 2028. In addition to a drop in air cargo volumes from Hong Kong, air cargo volumes from e-commerce hub China were down 13% week on week and 15% year on year. Plus, volumes from Taiwan to Europe were down 24% week on week. WorldACD noted that in terms of week on week impact, typhoon Bavi "particularly affected capacity and chargeable weight from Taiwan and to a lesser extent volumes and capacity from China and other parts of East Asia".