Ports

Gulf Strait Closure Forces Major Fleet Reductions at Top Feeder Carriers

The Middle East conflict has upended capacity deployment strategies among the world's largest feeder operators. X-Press Feeders, the sector's leading carrier by deployed capacity, reduced its global fleet by 7.1% year-over-year to 182,776 teu as of late September, according to Alphaliner analysis. The closure of Gulf routes devastated regional capacity, which fell 34.2% or 38,000 teu. DP World's global capacity declined 2.5% during the same period. To compensate for Middle East service suspensions, X-Press expanded intra-Europe capacity by 7.7% and deployed the 4,800 teu X-Press Odyssey on the China-Mediterranean service—an unusual move into deepsea trades for a feeder operator. AD Ports' Global Feeder Services has narrowed the performance gap with market leaders amid the operational disruptions.