The Strait of Hormuz disruption has forced a structural redesign of Gulf logistics, with the UAE’s east coast ports of Khorfakkan and Fujairah becoming primary maritime gateways and inland bonded transport emerging as the critical link to the region’s main consumption and distribution centres. AD Ports Group has confirmed that cargo operations were shifted to these east coast ports, with onward bonded inland transfer by truck convoys or rail shuttle to Khalifa Port and then into Abu Dhabi and wider GCC distribution channels . A related AD Ports customs-routing notice states that containers discharged at Khorfakkan or Fujairah can move under customs-bonded transit to Khalifa Port for final processing .
Dubai-side contingency arrangements follow the same logic. Dubai Trade guidance indicates that containers discharged at Khorfakkan or Fujairah for Jebel Ali destinations can be transferred by bonded road move coordinated by DP World Logistics, while Dubai Customs has operated a “Green Corridor” and alternative links between Fujairah, Khorfakkan, and Dubai that drove major shipment-volume growth in the early months of the disruption . DP World has scaled up inland flows substantially, moving 500,000 TEU through GCC road and rail corridors since March and supporting roughly 3,000 truck movements a day, with bonded routes linking Fujairah and Khorfakkan to Jebel Ali .
The operational model is straightforward in principle but complex in execution. A container destined for Dubai or Abu Dhabi is discharged at an east coast port rather than at its final gateway, then moves under bond without customs clearance at the arrival port. Upon reaching Khalifa Port or Jebel Ali, final customs processing occurs, leveraging the more extensive inspection and clearance infrastructure at the main hubs . AD Ports presents this as a single, unified logistics service intended to maintain predictable timelines and protect supply chains, while Dubai Customs has extended the Green Corridor concept to include Omani ports under a temporary land corridor arrangement .
The practical burden, however, is borne by shippers and transport operators. A movement that once involved a single ocean booking now encompasses discharge at an alternate port, dependency on feeder or inland scheduling, bonded road or rail transfer across customs jurisdictions, split custody between ocean carrier, terminal operator, inland hauler, and customs broker, and weaker correlation between vessel arrival and actual cargo availability at destination . Additional storage, detention, and empty-return complications arise, and the cost of the entire supply chain rises substantially. DP World’s chief executive has stated plainly that the cost of the whole supply chain is going up and that alternative routes can double supply-chain costs .
These costs are being passed through to cargo owners in the form of emergency surcharges. Maersk has published emergency freight charges ranging from USD 1,800 for a 20-foot dry container to USD 3,800 for reefer, special, and dangerous-goods units on specified affected trades, alongside revised empty-return rules and special dangerous-goods handling through Sajaa ICD for Khorfakkan cargo . Hapag-Lloyd has imposed Middle East emergency surcharges on container bookings from India to the Persian Gulf, with the scale ranging up to USD 7,200 for a 40-foot box from Mundra or Nhava Sheva to Kuwait when relayed over Salalah under the carrier’s haulage . Hapag-Lloyd has also noted that feeder services on alternative routings will not operate on a fixed weekly schedule and remain subject to regional safety conditions, with bonded transport between Khorfakkan and Sharjah expected to take around five days .
The bonded inland shuttle model has become the industry’s operational mantra precisely because no single alternative to Jebel Ali exists in the Middle East. DP World’s leadership has acknowledged that capacities in India, the east coast of Africa, and the Red Sea are being utilised, but that these alternatives are longer and more expensive . The east coast ports themselves were not designed for the landside cargo evacuation volumes they now handle: Khorfakkan, originally a ship-to-ship transshipment hub, has seen weekly truck departures rise from roughly 8,000 TEU at the start of 2026 to around 65,000 TEU during major rerouting periods, overwhelming road and yard infrastructure never intended for such flows.
For the logistics sector, the bonded shuttle arrangement represents a functional but costly adaptation to a prolonged disruption. It reduces exposure to the most dangerous maritime segment but reintroduces risk at every handoff point—inland coordination, equipment control, customs sequencing, and schedule reliability. Whether this model remains a contingency or becomes a permanent feature of Gulf logistics depends on the duration of the Hormuz disruption and on the infrastructure investments now underway, including DP World’s 50-year deal to develop terminals at Al Rugaylat in Fujairah with eventual capacity of 2.5 million TEU annually, giving ships a direct UAE gateway that bypasses the strait entirely .