Exporting to the Gulf in Wartime: 4 Routes While Hormuz Is Closed

Your order is ready. You called the carrier for a container and heard: "We are not taking new Gulf bookings."

You are not alone. According to Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) data, Türkiye’s exports to the Gulf fell 21 percent in the first seven months of the year, with the sharpest drops in the UAE and Iraq.

Yet cargo keeps moving - just along different paths. This guide covers those paths, their risks, and the seven things to check before you ship.

Where Things Stand (11 September 2026)

• Strait of Hormuz: effectively closed. Only 6 ships passed on 30 August; a normal day sees about 85 transits. What makes passage impossible is largely the cost of war risk insurance.
• Jebel Ali: the port itself operates, but vessel traffic is minimal and containers are stacking up in the yards.
• Major container lines: MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd have suspended Hormuz transits and stopped new bookings into the region.
• Road: transit trade to Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Jordan is running through the Cilvegozu and Akcakale gates. On 12 August alone, 398 trucks crossed in transit toward the Saudi route.
• Fuel: bunker and jet fuel cost roughly 60 percent more than before the war, which keeps fuel surcharges (BAF) in freight quotes high.

The 4 Routes Compared

1. Sea + Saudi land bridge: never entering Hormuz

Cargo passes Suez and discharges at Jeddah or King Abdullah Port on the northern Red Sea. From there it crosses Saudi Arabia by truck; if needed, a feeder vessel connects the east coast to Dubai or Abu Dhabi. MSC has built exactly this product.

Neither Hormuz nor Bab el-Mandeb appears on this routing. Jeddah’s connectivity grew nearly 15 percent last quarter, so finding a sailing is easier than it was. The downside: the cargo is handled twice, and if you exceed free time at the transshipment port, demurrage starts.

2. Sea to ports outside Hormuz

Khor Fakkan and Fujairah on the UAE’s east coast, and Sohar in Oman, sit outside Hormuz on the Gulf of Oman. Khor Fakkan’s connectivity jumped 189 percent in a single quarter; Fujairah is back on container schedules.

But reaching them from the Mediterranean means passing Bab el-Mandeb, the southern exit of the Red Sea. The downside: that passage carries a war risk premium, and as diverted cargo concentrates on the same ports, congestion can return. Confirm port status before booking.

3. Road via Syria and Jordan

Since April 2026, Saudi Arabia has issued 15-day transit visas to Turkish truck drivers - the decision that genuinely opened this corridor. Daily truck movements through Cilvegozu are approaching 1,500.

The downside: capacity is not keeping up with demand. On 22 August the queue at Cilvegozu passed 5 kilometres and waits reached 24 hours in places, mainly because the Bab al-Hawa crossing on the Syrian side processes slowly. The demand surge shows in prices too: carpet exporters in Gaziantep report Gulf trucking rates approaching 8,000-9,000 dollars.

4. Road via Iraq

Transit trade has started through Habur and Silopi into Iraq and onward to Kuwait and other Gulf states. According to the Ministry of Trade, truck counts on this lane grow every month. Iraq joining the TIR carnet system was the step that unlocked it.

The downside: security risk and variable border waits. The Iraqi market itself is among those hit hardest by the war.

Insurance: Your Standard Policy Does Not Cover War

This is the most overlooked point, and the most expensive one.

All three ICC clauses - A, B and C - exclude war and strike risks. Covering them requires adding the Institute War Clauses (Cargo) and Institute Strikes Clauses (Cargo). We explain which clause covers what in our ICC A, B, C guide.

The critical detail: war cover usually applies only while the cargo is on the vessel (or aircraft). War risk on the land leg is mostly not covered in the standard market. If you ship by road through Syria or Iraq, ask your insurer directly: "Do I have war and political risk cover on the land leg?" Get the answer in writing.

Check your Incoterm too. Sell FOB, CFR or CIF and risk passes to the buyer the moment cargo is loaded on the vessel in Türkiye. Sell DAP or DDP and the risk stays with you all the way. In this period, choose knowingly.

7 Checks Before You Ship to the Gulf

1. Get the war risk surcharge in writing. Early in the war some lines charged 2,000-3,000 dollars per container extra on Middle East cargo. You manage this line item through routing, not negotiation. For every other surcharge, see our freight surcharges guide.
2. Write the routing into the contract. Agree upfront who pays if the carrier reroutes.
3. Revisit your Incoterm. The risk transfer point is no longer a legal footnote.
4. Add war and strikes clauses. Ask separately about the land leg.
5. Check document consistency. If the piece count on the invoice and the packing list differ, a truck that reached the front of the queue can be sent to the back.
6. Decide daily on perishables. For fruit, vegetables and food, make the loading decision based on that day’s border situation.
7. Negotiate free time at the transshipment port. On the land bridge routing, the clock runs if your container waits in Jeddah. Details in our demurrage and detention guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will the Strait of Hormuz reopen? Nobody knows. It opened briefly in June and closed again after attacks on ships in early July. Plan as if it will not reopen; treat a reopening as a bonus.

Which road route to the Gulf is fastest? It depends on the destination and the border situation that day. Syria-Jordan leads for Saudi Arabia and the UAE; Habur leads for Iraq and Kuwait. Ask your carrier about the queues at Cilvegozu and Habur before departure.

Does standard cargo insurance cover war damage? No. Standard clauses including ICC A exclude war and strikes. Separate war and strikes clauses are needed, and even those often exclude war risk on the land leg.

Can the war risk surcharge be negotiated? Usually not - the amount comes from the insurance market. What you control is the route: a routing that avoids the high-risk zone reduces or removes this item.

Can I still ship to Jebel Ali? The port operates, but vessel calls through Hormuz are very limited. In practice cargo arrives via the Saudi land bridge or via UAE ports outside Hormuz.

Is a TIR carnet enough for transit through Iraq? Iraq joining the TIR system made carnet transit possible. Still, have your carrier confirm the current document requirements of every country on the routing.

Conclusion: Gulf Exports Did Not Stop - the Route Changed

Exporting to the Gulf today is not about one "correct" route but about matching the route to the cargo. Container volume favours the Saudi land bridge; door-to-door favours the road corridors. Whichever you choose, re-take the insurance and Incoterm decisions.

*This article is general information. Conditions change fast - confirm the current situation with your carrier and insurer before every shipment.*

Sources

• Ekonomi Gazetesi - Gulf export losses, TIM data (7 Aug 2026)
• Straits.live - Strait of Hormuz live tracking, IMF PortWatch data (9 Sep 2026)
• Semafor - Jebel Ali port report (2 Sep 2026)
• Speed Commerce - Hormuz and container lines (5 Aug 2026)
• Freightos - weekly freight update (8 Sep 2026)
• Hurriyet Bigpara - transit trade statement (Jul 2026)
• Sabah - Habur-Iraq-Kuwait transit lane (Jul 2026)
• Hatay Haberi - Cilvegozu truck queue (22 Aug 2026)
• DenizHaber - MSC Gulf service bypassing Hormuz (May 2026)
• DenizHaber - Middle East port connectivity (2026)
• Iste Mersin - Syria and Iraq road routes (Sep 2026)
• Gaziantep Pusula - Gulf trucking rates (Aug 2026)