Gulf shipping faces route suspensions, booking curbs as operators impose emergency freight surcharges

UAE – Shipping and logistics operators across the Gulf have introduced booking restrictions, suspended transport corridors, and implemented Emergency Freight surcharges of up to US$3,800 per container to manage regional instability and prioritize essential cargo, including medicine and perishable goods.

Several transport corridors have been suspended, including routes carrying cargo from the UAE and Qatar via the ports of Jeddah and Oman, and routes carrying cargo from Salalah and Sohar to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar.

Booking Restrictions and Cargo Prioritization

Reefer bookings have been suspended to and from Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia’s Dammam and Al Jubail ports, as well as most UAE destinations. Exceptions remain for Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah and King Abdullah ports, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Oman’s Salalah and Sohar ports, and Khor Fakkan imports.

For fresh-produce exporters and logistics operators, reefers carrying fruits, vegetables, and chilled meat face the strictest restrictions. However, operators stated that shipments containing critical foodstuffs, medicines, and perishable goods will receive priority attention where possible.

Therefore, this creates a two-tier system in which essential food and medical cargo continue to move while non-essential reefer shipments face delays.

Landbridge Solutions and Alternative Routing

Available landbridge solutions continue to support movements from Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the UAE via Salalah and Khor Fakkan, and from Iraq via Aqaba.

Cargo previously routed through Jeddah for Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, and the UAE will now move via Salalah and Khor Fakkan before onward transport through regional feeder and landbridge networks. Accepted cargo types remain dry and frozen, subject to capacity availability.

Emergency Freight Surcharges

For cargo already in transit, an Emergency Freight rate has been introduced for shipments loading from or destined for Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Oman (excluding Salalah).

Charges are set at US$1,800 per 20-foot dry container, US$3,000 per 40-foot dry container, and US$3,800 per reefer, special, and dangerous goods container. The surcharge includes up to 14 days of storage in transit, after which storage charges of US$25 per TEU per day will apply.

Finally, the substantial Emergency Freight surcharge offsets rising costs of rerouting and temporary storage, reflecting a strategic transition toward multimodal landbridge solutions to maintain the flow of goods despite ongoing regional instability.

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