Transit activity at Jordan’s Aqaba port rose 155% in the first half of the year from the same period last year, while the number of containers passing through the Aqaba Container Terminal exceeded 60,000 standard containers, compared with about 23,000 a year earlier.
The growth came amid war and regional tensions that prompted companies and importers to reroute some shipments away from shipping routes more exposed to risks, particularly the Strait of Hormuz, and to use Aqaba to transport goods overland to markets across the region.
Surge in containers bound for Iraq
The number of containers that reached Iraq via Jordan jumped to about 37,000 in July, compared with only about 3,600 containers in the same month last year, an increase of nearly 900%.
Shipments begin their journey in the southern Jordanian city of Aqaba before being transported overland to Iraq, as well as Syria and Lebanon. The route provides an alternative for some goods that previously reached the Iraqi market through Gulf ports.
Growth in cargo and energy handling
Cargo and dry-bulk traffic, including grains and food and industrial inputs, grew by more than 40% in July, with volumes reaching about 666,000 tonnes.
The liquefied-gas port received about 370,000 tonnes from the start of the year through July, an increase of nearly 12%. Volumes handled by oil and gas facilities also rose by more than 40% in the first half of the year, exceeding 2 million tonnes, driven by increased unloading of crude oil and petroleum products and growth in maritime fuel shipments.
Aqaba as a gateway for alternative trade routes
Container transit traffic grew by about 180% from the start of the year through July, as some goods bound for Iraq were rerouted from Gulf ports to Aqaba and then transported overland to Iraqi territory.
The shift is strengthening Aqaba’s role as Jordan’s only seaport and a logistics gateway linking maritime shipping lines with land-based markets in the Levant, as companies seek to diversify routes and reduce their reliance on corridors affected by regional disruptions.
