DUBAI: DP World is confident that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen eventually, but in the meantime the shipping and logistics giant is leaning on its operational flexibility to keep cargoes moving, its global head of Economic Zones said on Wednesday.
“The Strait will reopen,” Abdulla Al Hashemi, Global Chief Operating Officer, Parks & Economic Zones at DP World said at a closed-door briefing at the Arab Media Summit in Dubai. “When, I don’t know. In what shape or format, I don’t know.”
Hormuz leads into the Arabian Gulf, creating a “natural water path that leads cargo to where it’s supposed to be,” Al Hashemi said.
“There is a population that is in excess of 100 million people, to the best of my estimates, that live up the Strait,” Al Hashemi said. “The Strait has to open for things to go back to normal. We are right now in a much more resilient position here in the UAE, given the geography that we enjoy.”
Last month, DP World reported that revenue rose 13.1 percent in the first half of 2026, compared with the year-ago period, reaching $12.7 billion.
Flexibility lets DP World ‘mitigate the situation’
Excluding Jebel Ali, where vessel traffic has taken a sharp downward turn since conflict flared in Hormuz, DP World handled 6.5 percent more containers than it did in the same period last year.
“We are blessed at DP World because we have a very diverse profile of assets that are spread out across the globe,” he said. “And we have been able to effectively manage our assets around the globe to mitigate the situation.”
DP World has so far this year moved more than 500,000 containers of cargo overland from the country’s east coast to the UAE’s Gulf coast, which is home to the country’s biggest cities including Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The company operates economic zones in places like Fujairah, which unlike its flagship hub at Jebel Ali is located on the Gulf of Oman on the UAE’s east coast.
“Economic zones are extremely crucial to the ecosystem of DP World,” Al Hashemi said. “We’re not just a port operator. We’re [also] an economic zone, a developer and a manager. We are a maritime company, and we are a logistics company as well.”
DP World is developing two new terminals in Fujairah. Group Chairman Essa Kazim said last month that the new terminals will give cargo owners more flexibility and reinforce the UAE’s position as a critical trade and logistics hub.
