Port operator commits $500 million to bypass ports on Gulf of Oman
Trade at Jebel Ali, ranked by Lloyd’s List as the world’s ninth-busiest container port last year, has collapsed since the waterway closure that followed the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran war. The port, which handled about 15 million containers annually, now processes only a tenth of that volume, Narayan said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
Narayan took charge of DP World in mid-February after Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem’s abrupt resignation over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. A DP World veteran, Narayan previously served as the company’s chief financial officer and deputy CEO.
To keep food and other essential commodities flowing to Dubai, DP World has responded by shifting cargo to road and rail networks linked to ports in the Gulf of Oman, the Red Sea and as far away as Turkey, according to Narayan. The company added 700 trucks to its Middle East fleet and committed $500 million to build two new port facilities at Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, a direct bypass for Hormuz.
“No single alternative to Jebel Ali exists in the Middle East,” Narayan said. He added that DP World is also using its capacities in India and on the east coast of Africa, and is building capacity on the Red Sea. “But the cost of this is paid by the world, not by DP World.”
Today the Strait of Hormuz is impaired, and “tomorrow you will have the Red Sea impaired,” Narayan said. “The alternative routes are longer. You can double your supply-chain costs,” he said, adding that the cost of the entire supply chain is rising substantially.
Asked why DP World had not invested in Fujairah decades earlier when it had the option, Narayan said: “I don’t think there was anybody in the business of shipping who ever thought that the Strait of Hormuz will get closed for navigation one day. Now that we have seen it can happen, we need to do this to protect the Dubai ecosystem.”
Before the war, Jebel Ali served as a gateway to the upper Gulf, the east coast of Africa and, through the Suez Canal, to Europe. Narayan said he envisions a full return of cargo after Hormuz reopens, potentially within three months, because no alternative offers the same cost dynamics and connectivity.
Narayan said DP World had listed a Strait of Hormuz closure on its risk register as a “very high impact item, but a very low probability item.” He said the company is now reassessing other waterways. “Eighty percent of global trade is on the marine route,” he said. “I only hope sanity prevails.”
Despite the losses at Jebel Ali, Narayan said DP World’s other ports and businesses globally remain strong. In 2025, the company’s EBITDA was $6.4 billion; for 2026, it is projected at roughly $6 billion. “Without the war, we would have been at $7 billion-plus,” he said.