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Gemini relaunch likely to add to congestion pressure at Khor Fakkan

Gemini may be relaunching connections between the Far East and Middle East this weekend, to restore direct ocean links, but after replacing Jebel Ali calls, Khor Fakkan appears to be showing signs of buckling under the pressure. As reported by The Loadstar yesterday, the relaunched service, marketed as AGX by Hapag-Lloyd and FM1 by Maersk, is set to operate under a revised rotation that sees Khor Fakkan replace Jebel Ali, because of the US-Iran war, but warning signs of congestion have appeared at the Emirati gateway. A Kuehne+Nagel update that Khor Fakkan and Fujairah "taking on a lot of the volumes shifted to ports outside the Strait of Hormuz in recent months" had led to congestion across the UAE's corridors, with the two ports now the "main pressure points in the region". It added: "Through Fujairah and Khor Fakkan, transit times vary by destination, while final-mile delivery and corridor connectivity remain under the control of UAE government-affiliated logistics providers. "However, as congestion in Jeddah decreases, we expect cargo flows to redistribute towards alternative gateways, including Jeddah, Aqaba, and Salalah. Looking ahead, we expect Khor Fakkan and Fujairah to remain under significant pressure in the coming weeks." This was also recognised by Maersk, which said in its latest operational update: "Vessel congestion and limited berth availability at Khor Fakkan, together with high yard utilisation, road congestion and extended truck waiting times, are delaying cargo clearance." Meanwhile, Expeditors has somewhat downplayed the extent of the problem, noting that "UAE gateways remain largely unaffected and outside the Strait risk area", but nonetheless added that Khor Fakkan and Fujairah were "showing signs of congestion". With Gemini's relaunched service scheduled for 17 October, on its Qingdao-Ningbo-Tanjung Pelepas-Khor Fakkan-Singapore-Qingdao rotation, the congestion issues have raised questions as to how beneficial the additional capacity will prove for shippers. Maersk said that it would be relocating some boxes to an inland container depot at Sajja, which it hoped would help ease pressure on the port, while it is planning for the possible redirection of some shipments to Jebel Ali. Even so, cargo arriving at ports still needs to reach its final destination, and hauliers and logistics operators have been crying out for support to provide additional hinterland connectivity, with trucking the most obvious solution. However accessing that capacity has become a key hurdle, with forwarders telling The Loadstar that, since the outset of the war, this capacity was being "hoovered up" by "forwarders with the biggest pockets, rather than shipments with the most need".

LATAM Cargo embraces VR for warehouse staff training

LATAM Cargo has begun using Virtual Reality (VR) technology to train warehouse personnel at its Miami Airport facility. The airline said that the VR technology enables its teams to "practice, manage, and respond to real-time scenarios within a controlled digital environment". In its initial phase, the VR training programme will be used by approximately 550 staff members, including 250 forklift operators. "Unlike conventional training methods, the immersive platform captures precise behavioural metrics, including contingency response times as well as the immediate identification and mitigation of hazards," the airline explained. The simulators feature scenarios across six distinct warehouse pedestrian zones and three specialised modules for forklift drivers. "During training, personnel navigate high-risk procedures such as dangerous goods segregation, cargo handling, pedestrian traffic flow, and machinery separation protocol, boosting their overall situational awareness," the carrier explained. There was an initial rollout of the technology at the Fast Air warehouse in Santiago before the Miami addition, which is described as a "major scale-up, adding broader operational scenarios". The company is currently assessing the expansion of this VR training system to other strategic hubs across its network, including Brazil. LATAM Cargo chief operating officer Daniel Leng said: "Integrating Virtual Reality at our Miami hub marks a key step in our operational safety strategy. By placing our teams in critical operational scenarios within an exact replica of their daily work environment, we significantly close the gap between classroom theory and ramp practice."

Gulf conflict upsets networks - and fleet size - of biggest feeder operators

The US-Iran conflict and subsequent closure of the Hormuz Straits have upended the networks, and fleet deployment strategies, of the world's three largest common feeder operators - and seen AD Ports' Global Feeder Services significantly close the gap on the market leaders. According to new analysis from Alphaliner, the Middle East conflict, now in its eighth month, has forced the two largest operators, X-Press Feeders and DP Worldm to reduce their offered capacity as the closure of Gulf routes curtailed their networks. "X-Press Feeders remains the world's largest feeder operator by deployed capacity, although its fleet has contracted by 7.1% year on year, as per Alphaliner's survey on 21 September," the analyst writes this week. "Fallout from the Middle East conflict forced X-Press to make service cuts across the region, which is the main reason for the decline." As a result, X-Press Feeders' global capacity is now 182,776 teu, down 13,987 teu from September 2025, with its capacity serving the Middle East region down 34.2% - equivalent to 38,000 teu - which Alphaliner linked to service suspension in the wake of the conflict. To offset this, it has increased capacity in the intra-Europe trades by 7.4%, and intra-Americas by 17.7%, and has even taken the unusual step, for a feeder operator, of joining a deepsea Asia-Europe service, via the deployment of the 4,800 teu X-Press Odyssey on the China-Mediterranean CEX service, jointly run with China United Lines, Uniglory, and Global Feeder Services. Meanwhile, DP World's global capacity, largely made up of the Unifeeder fleet, fell 2.5% during the year, a "modest overall decline, also driven by the Middle East conflict", said Alphaliner. It added: "Its deployed capacity in the ME/ISC related trade fell by 7,500 teu, while its operated capacity in all other regions remained broadly stable year on year. "Most of the cuts came from Gulf-related loops," Alphaliner wrote, noting it had largely redeployed capacity to the Asia-India trade, as well as to a number of extra loaders serving the ME/ISC trade. However, Emirati compatriot Global Feeder Services (GFS), owned by AD Ports, in what appears to be a commercial strategy that closely resembles that of DP World, saw its capacity jump by 31%, and its fleet is now only a fraction behind that of its rival - just 2,800 teu smaller - after it doubled-down on serving the India-Middle East trade corridor. "The ME/ISC trade remains GFS's core market and accounted for the bulk of its growth, in contrast to X-Press Feeders and DP World, which both reduced their presence there," said Alphaliner, calculating that GFS's capacity on that trade grew 26.9% and now accounts for around 70% of its total fleet. "While its two main competitors scaled back in the region, GFS kept its network largely intact. The carrier replaced Gulf calls on existing loops with Red Sea ports, and extended its reach into neighbouring trades. "As a result, GFS has overtaken both rivals to become the largest of the three in the ME/ISC trade, ahead of X-Press Feeders (about 73,500 teu) and DP World (about 70,500 teu)," the analyst added.