Jebel Ali in Dubai handled just 3.14 million TEU in the first half of 2026, compared with 7.77 million TEU a year earlier, according to Alphaliner’s latest ranking of the world’s largest container ports.
The decline of almost 60% was particularly severe during the second quarter, when throughput reportedly collapsed by more than 90% to just 374,000 TEU.
The result pushed Jebel Ali, traditionally one of the world’s ten largest container ports, all the way down to 32nd place.
Alphaliner says the wider ranking reflects the impact of geopolitical disruption on shipping networks, particularly the Middle East conflict and restrictions affecting navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. At the same time, US tariff policy encouraged some shippers to bring imports forward, influencing volumes on trans-Pacific routes.
Cargo shifts towards alternative hubs
Jebel Ali’s fall illustrates just how dramatically the disruption around Hormuz has changed regional container flows.
The port lies inside the Persian Gulf, meaning most vessels serving it must pass through the Strait of Hormuz. As shipping companies reduced or reorganised Gulf services, other transhipment hubs benefited.
Colombo was among the strongest performers. The Sri Lankan port handled 4.44 million TEU, an increase of 11.9% year on year, and climbed from 26th to 20th place. The Sri Lanka Ports Authority says transhipment accounted for almost 85% of Colombo’s container business during the period. India’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port, also known as Nhava Sheva, recorded another substantial rise in the ranking, moving from 28th to 21st place.
Jebel Ali was not the only Gulf port badly affected. Alphaliner estimates that Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa Port also suffered a severe fall in container traffic and dropped out of the world’s top 50.
Ningbo overtakes Singapore
There was also a change right at the top of the ranking. Shanghai remained comfortably the world’s largest container port, handling 28.74 million TEU in the first six months of the year, up 6.2%. However, Ningbo-Zhoushan moved into second place after its throughput increased 8.8% to 22.9 million TEU.
That was enough to overtake Singapore, which handled 22.74 million TEU, despite recording growth of 4.7%. Chinese ports occupied six of the world’s ten highest positions. Shenzhen remained fourth with 18.56 million TEU, followed by Qingdao with 17.56 million and Guangzhou with 14.03 million. Tianjin moved into seventh place with 13 million TEU.
Busan slipped to eighth after throughput fell slightly to 12.6 million TEU. The combined Los Angeles-Long Beach gateway remained ninth, handling just under 10 million TEU, up 2.8%. Alphaliner links part of the increase to importers bringing Asian cargo forward ahead of changes to US tariffs. Malaysia’s Port Klang completed the global top ten following Jebel Ali’s departure.
Europe’s largest ports lose ground
Europe was conspicuous for another reason: unlike most of the world’s largest ports, its three representatives in the top 30 all recorded declining container volumes during the first half of the year.
Rotterdam remained Europe’s highest-ranked container port at 12th globally, with approximately 7.02 million TEU. Throughput was almost unchanged, falling 0.1% year on year.
Antwerp-Bruges moved up one position to 13th, although this was largely the result of Jebel Ali leaving the upper part of the ranking rather than stronger Belgian volumes. Its container throughput fell 1.5%.
Hamburg experienced the sharpest decline of the three, handling around 4 million TEU, down 3.8%. It fell four positions to 27th.
These figures contrast with estimated growth of around 5.2% across the world’s leading container ports during the first half of 2026.
For European logistics operators, however, the rankings reveal more than a competition between individual ports. The first half of the year showed how quickly geopolitical events can move container flows between hubs thousands of kilometres apart — with changes in ocean networks subsequently affecting terminals, inland transport and container availability far beyond the region where the disruption began.
