Container port congestion across the Middle East has surged to record levels, with the UAE's east coast gateways of Khorfakkan and Fujairah emerging as the primary pressure points. According to data from Kuehne+Nagel cited in multiple shipping industry reports, average vessel waiting times at Khorfakkan reached 7.25 days as of 30 October 2026, while Fujairah recorded an average of 8.86 days over the preceding week . At Sharjah, vessels were waiting approximately three days for berths, though arrival and departure delays over the past 30 days exceeded four days .
The congestion is a direct consequence of the prolonged disruption around the Strait of Hormuz, which has forced carriers to reroute direct services away from Jebel Ali and other upper Gulf ports toward the UAE's eastern seaboard, which sits outside the strait. Khorfakkan, originally designed as a ship-to-ship transshipment hub, has been transformed into a primary landside gateway, with weekly truck volumes departing the terminal rising from approximately 8,000 TEU at the start of 2026 to around 65,000 TEU during major rerouting periods . This surge in landside cargo movement has overwhelmed road and yard infrastructure that was never designed for such volumes.
The operational strain extends well beyond the quayside. Kuehne+Nagel reports that container transfers from Khorfakkan and Fujairah to Jebel Ali, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi—which previously took around five days—are now taking between 12 and 15 days . This means a container destined for the UAE's interior or for onward regional distribution faces a week or more of waiting at anchor, followed by discharge, and then another two weeks before reaching its final inland destination. Yard capacity, truck availability, and customs clearance resources are all operating under severe constraint, with landside dwell times rising in tandem with vessel delays.
Individual carriers have begun adjusting their operations in response. Maersk issued a customer advisory on 30 October announcing temporary booking restrictions for Khorfakkan, Fujairah, and selected Upper Gulf destinations, citing continued disruption around the Strait of Hormuz and port congestion . Under the revised arrangements, new bookings will be accepted only according to available capacity, and existing bookings that cannot be loaded on their original vessel will not automatically roll to the next sailing. Maersk representatives are contacting affected customers individually to discuss alternative arrangements. According to Kuehne+Nagel, some carriers are reducing allocations for Khorfakkan, Fujairah, and Sharjah, though no widespread direct port omissions have yet been implemented .
The congestion at Khorfakkan is being compounded by the deployment of very large vessels. Linerlytica reports that MSC has deployed ships of approximately 24,000 TEU on an expanded Far East–Middle East service calling at Khorfakkan, despite the mounting delays . When a vessel of this size discharges large volumes of containers in a short window, the yard must provide stacking positions and subsequently retrieve individual boxes in the sequence required by trucks or feeders. Limited onward transport capacity can lengthen dwell times even after quay operations have concluded, creating a bottleneck that persists long after the ship has departed.
Regional spillover effects are becoming evident at other gateways. Hapag-Lloyd's operational advisory places yard density at Oman's Salalah port at 84%, with berthing delays of up to 36 hours, while Sohar faces waits of two to three days . Jeddah's container yards are operating at approximately 76% density . Linerlytica expects Middle Eastern trades to continue attracting additional vessel capacity despite softening freight rates elsewhere, potentially adding further pressure to terminals that are already overstretched. The consultancy described the congestion as reaching a record high for the region.
For shippers and freight forwarders, the practical implications are significant. A container moving through Khorfakkan or Fujairah now faces a multi-stage delay sequence: waiting at anchor for a berth, discharge under possible cargo-type restrictions, yard dwell while awaiting onward transport, and then a 12-to-15-day inland transfer window. Kuehne+Nagel advises customers to plan for further routing adjustments and additional transit buffers, and suggests considering alternative gateways such as Salalah and Duqm in Oman, where truck capacity is currently more readily available . However, shifting to an alternative port introduces its own complications, including additional terminal handling, different customs procedures, and revised haulage arrangements. The congestion is expected to persist for weeks, with strong Middle East demand and precautionary inventory building continuing to add pressure on available capacity .