For more than four decades, Jebel Ali has been the engine of Dubai’s transformation from a regional trading centre into one of the world’s great commercial hubs. Now the US-Israeli war with Iran has exposed its vulnerability, as severe shipping disruption in the Strait of Hormuz stifles operations at the strategically critical site. Eirik Hooper, senior associate at maritime consultancy Drewry and a former DP World executive, called the situation "an existential risk" for the emirate.

The brainchild of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Dubai’s ruler in the 1970s and 1980s, Jebel Ali initially faced criticism as overly ambitious. A decisive step came in 1985 with the creation of the Jebel Ali Free Zone, now home to 12,000 companies. The port and free-trade zone alone account for more than a fifth of Dubai’s GDP, and Jebel Ali generated 30 per cent of DP World revenues last year.

The port’s four container terminals once handled about 40,000 TEU a day, making it the Middle East’s biggest shipping hub. But volumes plunged more than 90 per cent in the early weeks of the conflict. Transits through Hormuz averaged just 17 vessels a day in late August, compared with roughly 135 before the war.