Container shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed since 28 February 2026, so Saudi imports now arrive through the Red Sea. At Jeddah, ships berth quickly and boxes wait on land. This Red Sea and Hormuz shipping update for September 2026 starts with Maersk's 11 September advisory, which keeps its bookings to Dammam, Jubail and Iraq suspended.
Short answer: as of 15 September 2026, container shipping through Hormuz remains effectively closed and Saudi imports go through Jeddah. Ships there waited a median 2.2 days to berth on 6 to 12 September (Portcast), but boxes faced landside delays of about 10 to 12 days after discharge (Expeditors, 2 September). Maersk charges emergency freight of USD 1,800 to USD 3,800 per container on cargo to the UAE, the Upper Gulf and Oman except Salalah, plus USD 1,000 for a Hormuz transit. From 15 and 17 September it also adds a USD 500 Emergency Operational Cost Recovery (OCR) surcharge on contract bookings.
Red Sea and Hormuz shipping update for September 2026 at a glance
- Lloyd's List Intelligence counted 346 Hormuz transits by non-Iranian-linked ships in August, with little change for container ships (9 September). Plan Upper Gulf cargo through ports outside the Strait.
- Maersk keeps bookings to Dammam, Jubail and Iraq suspended and routes Saudi cargo via Jeddah (11 September). Check acceptance for your cargo type before booking.
- Maersk's USD 500 OCR applies to contract cargo for the UAE from 15 September and for Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq from 17 September. Show it as a separate cost line.
- At Jeddah, ships berth in about 2.2 days but boxes wait about 10 to 12 days landside (Portcast, 6 to 12 September; Expeditors, 2 September). Book the onward truck before the vessel arrives.
Are container ships getting through Hormuz and the Red Sea?
Very few get through Hormuz. Lloyd's List Intelligence (LLI) counted at least 346 transits by non-Iranian-linked ships in August and said container ships “saw little change” (9 September). The Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) kept its regional threat assessment at “severe” in its 1 September advisory.
In the Red Sea, a threat against Saudi-linked shipping has been in effect since 20 July 2026. LLI reads it as aimed at Saudi-linked tonnage rather than all shipping, and container lines kept transiting Bab el-Mandeb in the week after it took effect. On 6 August LLI reported that the Joint War Committee's listed area had been extended about 800 km north to cover Jeddah and Yanbu. The listing concerns shipowners' hull war risk, so ask your cargo insurer in writing whether your own cover applies there before you sign Q4 contracts.
Suez is returning service by service. According to Maersk, Gemini's AE19 has sailed via Suez since 10 August with Jeddah calls in both directions, and MECL, back on Suez since July, added Jeddah eastbound from August. Maersk says the Suez routing saves MECL about 7 days westbound and 14 eastbound. The four Gemini services that Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd announced on 14 September call at no Saudi port, and the carriers say the move depends on stability in the Red Sea area. Our September 2026 freight market update has the detail for each service. If a service is diverted again, Cape transit times apply once more.
How long do containers take to clear at Jeddah?
Jeddah Islamic Port handled a record 540,107 TEU in July 2026, about 90% of Saudi port throughput (Mawani figures via Arab News, 12 August; CargoDuo calculation). Berth waits have eased since the week of 29 July to 4 August, when Kuehne+Nagel reported berthing delays of 10 to 21 days, and Portcast's median for 6 to 12 September was 2.2 days. On 2 September Expeditors called the port “operational but congested”, with landside delays of about 10 to 12 days after discharge. On 9 September Maersk said collection and truck turnaround times were getting longer there and at King Abdullah Port.
Low waits elsewhere can mislead. King Abdullah Port's median in the same Portcast week was 0.08 days, although Expeditors reported a backlog and limited inland capacity there on 2 September. Dammam's 0.06 days reflects new arrivals that the same advisory described as paused. For the UAE, the hot spot is Khor Fakkan, at 6.16 days, and Semafor reported on 2 September that trucks there and at Fujairah queue for up to 12 hours, against a 27-minute turnaround at Jebel Ali. Jebel Ali, inside the Strait and reached by land bridge, is undamaged but handled 374,000 TEU in Q2 2026, down 90.1% year on year (DP World, 13 August). In Oman, Salalah's median wait was 0.47 days.
Xeneta put its China–Jeddah spot rate at USD 10,870 per FEU on 9 September, up 256% since 28 February, and China–Khor Fakkan at USD 10,626, up 479%. Our ocean freight rates report follows the benchmark lanes.
Which carrier rules, surcharges and Saudi customs rules apply?
Carrier rules differ by cargo type. Maersk's 11 September update suspends dry bookings to Dammam, Al Jubail and Iraq, and it accepts UAE cargo only via Khor Fakkan or by land bridge into Jebel Ali. Its reefer suspensions cover Dammam, Al Jubail, King Abdullah Port, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and the UAE except Khor Fakkan and Jebel Ali. Jeddah appears on neither its reefer suspension list nor its acceptance list, so confirm reefer acceptance there before booking. Its out-of-gauge (OOG) bookings are suspended to every Saudi port. Maersk takes dangerous goods (DG) into Jeddah only for local consignees.
Maersk's emergency freight on cargo to Iraq, Kuwait, Dammam, Jubail, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Oman except Salalah is USD 1,800 per 20ft dry container, USD 3,000 per 40ft dry container and USD 3,800 per reefer, special or DG container. Maersk includes 14 days of storage, then charges USD 25 per TEU per day. A Hormuz transit adds USD 1,000. The USD 500 OCR applies to contract bookings from all origins except Far East Asia, to the UAE from 15 September and to Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq from 17 September, with regulated trades following on 9 and 11 October. On 9 September Maersk said the emergency rate “may be adjusted”.
Maersk's land bridges are truck moves. It offers carrier haulage from Jeddah to Riyadh and Dammam, and from Khor Fakkan, Fujairah, Jebel Ali and Abu Dhabi to the rest of the UAE. Moves from Jeddah to the UAE, Oman and Qatar are paused, and Upper Gulf cargo is transhipped via Salalah or Khor Fakkan. In Maersk's words, “It will not go via Jeddah.” There is no rail option either. The Landbridge railway between Riyadh and Jeddah is not operating, and Saudi Arabia Railways' chief executive said in January 2026 that phased completion is planned by 2034.
Saudi rules set their own deadlines. Since 29 October 2025 the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) has required the manifest and customs declaration to be filed in FASAH before arrival. ONE's advisory sets the deadline at 72 hours before arrival from distant ports and 24 hours from nearby ones. Mawani requires transit cargo crossing the Kingdom to leave Saudi ports within 15 days of arrival, and by July most major carriers had paused in-transit bookings via Jeddah (Kuehne+Nagel, MarineRadar). VATupdate reported on 26 August 2026 that more product categories, including steel and building materials, now need a Product Declaration approved by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources before SASO issues a SABER Shipment Certificate of Conformity, so check your HS codes on SABER.
Mawani's temporary relief, reported by Enterprise AM and Lexis Middle East in May 2026, lets cargo leave terminals before storage fees are paid and gives transit goods up to 15 days of free storage, containers included at Jeddah. It does not cover carrier demurrage and detention (D&D), so confirm with your customs broker that it still applies.
Is there warehouse space in Saudi Arabia for Q4?
Not much. JLL's Q2 2026 data put industrial occupancy above 90% in Riyadh, Jeddah and the Dammam Metropolitan Area. Rents rose 6.9% in Dammam, 4.8% in Jeddah and 3.9% in Riyadh, over a period the report does not state. JLL expects occupancy to stay high in the near to medium term, citing cargo rerouted to western ports, and Maersk said in August that it expects strong warehousing demand in all three cities until the end of 2026. If you need space for Q4 or Q1, start now and expect terms that favour landlords.
How many pallets fit in a 40ft reefer when reefer space is rationed?
Maersk has suspended reefer bookings to several Gulf ports, and where its emergency freight and OCR apply, they are charged per container. The number of pallets in each reefer decides how much cargo reaches the buyer.
Take a Turkish poultry exporter shipping frozen halal chicken from Mersin to Jeddah in a 40ft reefer high cube. According to TİM, the Turkish Exporters Assembly, Turkish exports to Saudi Arabia rose 23.5% in August to USD 261.3 million, while exports to the UAE fell 25.4%. Our Türkiye export logistics update covers the origin side. The order is 20 non-stackable pallets, each 120 × 100 × 190 cm and 950 kg. The container is 1,157.8 × 228.0 × 252.5 cm inside, with a 29,700 kg payload (see our guide to reefer inner dimensions).
When pallets may turn, the loading algorithm fits all 20, putting a lane of 9 pallets with the 120 cm side along the container (1,080 cm) beside a lane of 11 turned the other way (1,100 cm), which uses 220 cm of the 228 cm inner width. The plan loads 19,000 kg and fills 68.41% of the volume, with left/right balance at +0.75%.
If every pallet goes in the same way round, each lane takes 9 and the two lanes use 200 cm of the width. CargoDuo places 18 pallets and reports that 2 items could not be placed, which leaves 1,900 kg of chicken on the dock.
Two more pallets means 11% more cargo per plug, per box and per D&D clock. With Maersk suspending reefer bookings to several Gulf ports, the plan decides whether pallets 19 and 20 sail on this booking. CargoDuo's load optimiser builds both plans from a packing list before you commit to a container.
The truck leg from Jeddah needs the same check. Saudi Arabia's Roads General Authority limits gross vehicle weight by axle count, from 21 tonnes on 2 axles to 45 tonnes on 5. Overweight trucks are fined SAR 200 per 100 kg, up to SAR 100,000 (Saudi Press Agency, 24 September 2024). Plan each truck to Riyadh or Dammam within its limit before it leaves the port.
What this means for your shipments
| Corridor or node | Condition | Impact window | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strait of Hormuz to Upper Gulf ports | Effectively closed to container shipping since 28 Feb; JMIC assessment “severe” (1 Sep) | All Q4 bookings made now | Route via the Red Sea or ports outside the Strait; re-check the carrier advisory at booking |
| Jeddah Islamic Port, imports | Median berth wait 2.2 days (Portcast, 6–12 Sep); landside about 10–12 days after discharge (Expeditors, 2 Sep) | Arrivals late Sep–Oct | File in FASAH at least 72 h before arrival; book the truck before berthing; budget 2+ weeks landside |
| Jeddah to Riyadh or Dammam, by truck | Carrier haulage offered (Maersk, 11 Sep); gross limits 21, 34, 42 and 45 t for 2 to 5 axles | Every move | Plan each truck within its limit before gate-out |
| UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain consignees | Maersk land bridge from Jeddah to the UAE, Oman and Qatar paused (11 Sep); Khor Fakkan median wait 6.16 days (Portcast, 6–12 Sep) | Sep–Oct | Name the discharge port and truck leg in the booking; add about a week of berth risk; accept a possible switch to Fujairah |
| Maersk Gulf routings outside Jeddah | Dammam, Jubail and Iraq suspended; emergency freight USD 1,800, 3,000 or 3,800; OCR USD 500 from 15 Sep (UAE) and 17 Sep (Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq) | Now; regulated trades 9 and 11 Oct | Move eastern Saudi cargo via Jeddah and truck; show emergency freight, OCR and Hormuz fee as separate cost lines |
| Reefer and OOG into Saudi Arabia | Maersk reefer suspended to Dammam, Jubail and King Abdullah Port; OOG suspended at all Saudi ports (11 Sep) | Now | Get Jeddah reefer acceptance in writing; fill every accepted reefer; check project cargo carrier by carrier |
- For any Gulf booking made from 15 September, get the carrier's written acceptance for your cargo type (dry, reefer, DG or out-of-gauge).
- Show Maersk's USD 500 OCR as its own landed-cost line, from 15 September for the UAE and 17 September for Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq.
- For cargo afloat, decide on a return or new destination before the box reaches the region and more than 72 hours before discharge, or Maersk's Hormuz emergency charge applies.
- For Jeddah arrivals in late September and October, file in FASAH at least 72 hours ahead, book the truck before berthing and budget two weeks landside.
- Before you book late-September and October sailings, plan every accepted reefer to its last pallet and every Jeddah truck to the gross limit for its axle count.
What to watch in late September and October
According to Maersk, the first westbound Suez sailings of the four Gemini services are due on 19, 21 and 24 September, with no Saudi calls. For Jeddah, a more useful date is 7 October, when COSCO plans to add a Jeddah call to its RES4 service (Linerlytica). Maersk's OCR reaches regulated trades on 9 and 11 October. Around Saudi National Day on 23 September, check holiday operating hours with your broker.
For urgent air cargo from Europe, an Expeditors advisory of 2 September lists KLM flights to Dubai, Riyadh and Dammam as suspended and Singapore Airlines flights to Dubai as cancelled, both through 24 October. For cargo leaving North European ports, our Europe port congestion update covers the gateway side.
Frequently asked questions
Are container ships getting through the Strait of Hormuz in September 2026?
Very few. Container shipping through the Strait has been effectively closed since 28 February 2026. Lloyd's List Intelligence counted 346 transits by non-Iranian-linked ships in August and said in its 9 September brief that container-ship movements saw little change. The Joint Maritime Information Center kept its threat assessment at “severe” on 1 September. When Maersk does route cargo through the Strait, it charges USD 1,000 per container on top of emergency freight.
How do I ship a container to Dubai if carriers won't route it through Hormuz?
As of Maersk's 11 September 2026 update, UAE imports go via Khor Fakkan or by land bridge into Jebel Ali, and some Khor Fakkan cargo is discharged at Fujairah instead. Portcast put Khor Fakkan's median vessel wait at 6.16 days for 6 to 12 September. Name the discharge port and the truck leg in your booking. Don't plan via Jeddah, because Maersk has paused onward trucking from Jeddah to the UAE. Other carriers set their own routings.
Is Jeddah port congested, and how long do containers take to clear?
Ships berth quickly, but boxes wait. Portcast measured a median vessel wait of 2.2 days at Jeddah for 6 to 12 September 2026. An Expeditors advisory of 2 September put landside delays at about 10 to 12 days after discharge, and Maersk said on 9 September that collection and truck turnaround times were getting longer. Budget at least two weeks from discharge to delivery, and book the truck before the ship berths.
What emergency surcharges are carriers charging on cargo to the Gulf?
As of 11 September 2026, Maersk charges emergency freight of USD 1,800 per 20ft dry, USD 3,000 per 40ft dry and USD 3,800 per reefer, special or DG container on cargo to Iraq, Kuwait, Dammam, Jubail, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Oman except Salalah. A Hormuz transit adds USD 1,000. Its USD 500 OCR on contract bookings starts on 15 September for the UAE and 17 September for Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq. Other carriers publish their own charges.
Does the Suez return help cargo going to Jeddah?
Only on some services. According to Maersk, Gemini's AE19 has sailed via Suez since 10 August and calls at Jeddah in both directions, and Maersk's MECL added a Jeddah call eastbound from August. The four Gemini services announced on 14 September don't call at any Saudi port. According to Linerlytica, COSCO plans to add Jeddah to its RES4 service from 7 October. When you book, ask the carrier whether your voyage goes via Suez or the Cape.
What truck weight limits apply from Jeddah to Riyadh or Dammam?
Saudi Arabia's Roads General Authority sets gross vehicle weight limits by axle count: 21 tonnes on 2 axles, 34 on 3, 42 on 4 and 45 on 5. Trucks can be up to 23 m long, 2.6 m wide and 4.8 m high. Overweight is fined at SAR 200 per 100 kg, up to SAR 100,000. The Saudi Press Agency published the limits on 24 September 2024. Plan each truck within its limit before it leaves the port.
Sources: Maersk Middle East operational updates 44 to 46 (31 August to 11 September 2026), OCR notices (9 and 11 September), market updates (14 August and 9 September), MECL and AE19 service notices (9 July and 10 August) and Gemini announcement (14 September); Lloyd's List Intelligence Hormuz and Red Sea briefs (23 July to 9 September); the JMIC advisory of 1 September; Portcast (6 to 12 September); Expeditors (2 September); Kuehne+Nagel (July and August 2026) and MarineRadar (11 July); Semafor (2 September); DP World half-year results (13 August); Xeneta (9 September); Mawani figures and JLL Q2 2026 data via Arab News (12 and 26 August); ZATCA (2 May 2025) and ONE (8 October 2025); VATupdate (26 August); Enterprise AM and Lexis Middle East (May 2026); Saudi Arabia Railways via Arab News (21 January 2026); Saudi Press Agency (24 September 2024); Linerlytica (9 August); TİM export data to 31 August 2026. The Jeddah share of Saudi throughput is a CargoDuo calculation, and the load plans are real CargoDuo output. Updated: 15 September 2026. Changelog: 15 September 2026, first edition. Spotted something that has moved? Tell us and we will correct it.