DP World’s Southern Container Terminal at Jeddah Islamic Port, where APM Terminals has acquired a 37.5% minority stake as part of a new Red Sea partnership. Photo courtesy APM Terminals
DP World and APM Terminals are joining forces at Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Islamic Port, consolidating their positions at one of the Red Sea’s most strategically important container gateways.
Under the agreement, APM Terminals — the port operating arm of A.P. Moller–Maersk — will acquire a 37.5% minority stake in the Southern Container Terminal. DP World will retain a 62.5% majority share and continue operating the facility.
The deal tightens collaboration between two of the world’s largest terminal operators and reinforces Jeddah’s role as a critical hub linking Asia, Europe, and Africa through the Red Sea corridor.
DP World has significantly upgraded the terminal since securing a 30-year Build-Operate-Transfer concession in 2019, expanding capacity, improving operational efficiency, and aligning the facility with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 objectives.
“Saudi Arabia is a strategic market for DP World, and Jeddah Islamic Port has been central to our growth in the Kingdom for more than two decades,” said Yuvraj Narayan, Group CEO of DP World. He said the partnership reflects confidence in the terminal’s modernization and long-term growth prospects.
Keith Svendsen, CEO of APM Terminals, framed the move as a long-term infrastructure play.
“Jeddah Islamic Port is a vital gateway to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a key hub in our customers’ supply chains,” Svendsen said. “This investment secures long-term access to quality infrastructure and strengthens our ability to support customers with reliable, scalable capacity in the Kingdom.”
Both DP World and Maersk have also expanded integrated logistics operations at Jeddah, connecting quayside handling with warehousing, distribution, and inland transport networks — a strategy increasingly central to major carriers seeking end-to-end supply chain control.
The Jeddah stake aligns with APM Terminals’ broader strategy of securing long-term positions at key global gateways.
In Germany, APM Terminals and Eurogate are in advanced discussions over a potential €1 billion modernization of Bremerhaven’s North Sea Terminal. The project would increase annual capacity from 3 million to 4 million TEU and aims to create Europe’s first zero-emission container hub.
Vincent Clerc, CEO of A.P. Moller–Maersk, said the investment would strengthen Bremerhaven’s competitiveness within Europe’s North Range while enhancing supply-chain resilience for Germany.
If completed, the Jeddah and Bremerhaven initiatives would underscore APM Terminals’ dual-track strategy: securing strategic equity stakes in critical trade corridors while positioning itself at the forefront of the industry’s decarbonization push.
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