Latest developments across the region

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to reshape vessel deployment and cargo flows across the Middle East and South Asia.

Carriers are diverting Gulf-bound vessels to alternative hubs including Khor Fakkan, Fujairah, Sohar, and Salalah, along with ports across India and Southeast Asia.

This shift is creating localized congestion at diversion ports and increasing reliance on feeder networks and inland transport to move cargo to its final destination.

A disruption that reshaped the network

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has forced carriers to reroute vessels away from Gulf ports and into alternative hubs across Oman, the UAE, India, and Southeast Asia.

This shift has removed capacity from the system while increasing pressure on ports that were not designed to absorb sudden volume spikes.

As cargo is diverted away from Gulf ports, more containers require additional handling through feeder vessels or inland transport, increasing the likelihood of delays after discharge rather than at berth.

The result is not widespread congestion, but localized stress forming in parts of the network that are least equipped to handle it.

At Sohar, congestion formed almost immediately

At Sohar, the impact of rerouted cargo was immediate.

Vessel wait times increased, but cargo dwell increased at a much faster rate, indicating the primary constraint is no longer berth capacity but the ability to move containers out of the port.

Cargo dwell increased more than fourfold, while total port time tripled within weeks. Total time spent in port rose from under 10 days to more than 30 days.

The primary driver was not vessel delays, but the time cargo spent in the yard after discharge.

Containers began arriving faster than they could leave, creating a backlog that compounded quickly.

This is what disruption-driven congestion looks like in real time. It is not gradual. It is sudden and severe.

At Khalifa, cargo continues to flow despite rising vessel delays

At Khalifa Port, the pattern looks different.

Cargo dwell increased only marginally, suggesting stronger throughput capacity despite rising vessel arrivals.

While vessel delays increased, cargo dwell times remained relatively stable. The port absorbed additional volume without experiencing the same level of backlog seen at Sohar.

This suggests stronger inland connectivity or greater operational capacity to move cargo through the port.

Congestion is not only about how much volume arrives. It is about how quickly that volume can move out.

At Salalah, congestion builds steadily over time

Salalah represents a third pattern.

Dwell times more than tripled over a two-month period, reflecting sustained accumulation rather than a single disruption event.

Rather than an immediate spike, cargo dwell times increased steadily from January through March.

This gradual buildup reflects sustained pressure as diverted cargo continues to accumulate.

Over time, even well-functioning ports can become congested when inflows consistently exceed outflows.

Congestion is shifting, not spreading

These patterns reveal a broader shift in how congestion is forming across the global network.

Some ports experience immediate breakdowns.
Others absorb and distribute volume.
Others slowly become saturated.

This is not a system-wide backlog. It is a network imbalance.

Delays are no longer concentrated at major hubs or driven by peak demand cycles. They are forming at secondary ports where rerouted cargo is creating uneven pressure.

What happens next

As vessels continue to operate outside their original schedules and routes, these imbalances are likely to persist.

In all three ports, the largest increases in delay occur after cargo is discharged, reinforcing that the most critical bottlenecks today are happening on land, not at sea.

Congestion will not disappear. It will continue to shift.

Understanding where pressure is building, and why, will be critical for routing decisions, carrier selection, and managing downstream risk.

Because the most significant delays are no longer where they used to be.

Explore the data

Vizion’s TradeView platform provides visibility into port performance, carrier behavior, and disruption-driven shifts across the global network.

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