ports

Hapag-Lloyd Suspends Jeddah Bookings as Gulf Land Bridge Gridlock Deepens

Hapag-Lloyd has halted bookings through Jeddah as congestion at the Saudi Arabian port reaches critical levels. The surge in Gulf land bridge demand has driven yard density to 90%, triggering a 20%-25% productivity decline and forcing the carrier to suspend haulage solutions for cross-border Upper Gulf movements. Truckers report queues extending 5 kilometers to port gates, with wait times stretching six to eight weeks for container release. Port authorities are redirecting vessels with non-Jeddah final destinations to alternative terminals to manage overflow. The congestion persists despite recent de-escalation in regional hostilities, as shippers continue leveraging the land bridge routing advantage. Seasonal Hajj festival traffic has compounded the bottleneck. Forwarders are actively steering clients toward alternate Arabian Sea gateways including Salalah, Khor Fakkan, and Sharjah to circumvent delays.