Demand for freight traffic on the Safaga-Duba route between Egypt and Saudi Arabia has risen in recent days as exporters seek to avoid maritime risks linked to the escalating US-Israeli war against Iran.
People in Egypt’s overland transport sector told Al Manassa that the route has become a preferred option for exporters serving Gulf markets because it bypasses the Bab El-Mandeb and Hormuz straits, helping lift volumes by 25% to 30% above normal levels.
“Many transport companies are looking for safer routes to ensure cargo arrives securely, relying on shipping models that combine land and sea transport,” Khaled Qenawi, head of the refrigerated and dry international transport secretariat at the General Union of Transport Workers and Services, told Al Manassa.
Under this route, goods are moved overland to Safaga port on the Red Sea, then the trucks are loaded onto ferries bound for Duba, before continuing into the Saudi market and the rest of the Gulf.
The cargo is not limited to Egyptian products. It also includes imported goods arriving through Mediterranean ports in transit trade.
Qenawi said average daily traffic on the route is about 500 refrigerated containers carried on four ferries, with loads reaching around 12,500 tons a day, about 25% above normal business volumes.
He added that about eight ferries owned by public- and private-sector companies now work the Safaga-Duba route regularly, making it one of the sectors benefiting most from trade disruption caused by the war.
Mostafa Shawqi, a union federation official involved in cargo transport between Egypt and Saudi Arabia on the Duba-Safaga line, told Al Manassa that the main goods shipped daily from Egypt to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states are fruit and vegetables, and estimated volumes have risen by about 30% since the war began..
Saudi Arabia is one of Egypt’s leading export destinations. Trade between the two countries reached about $5.9 billion in the first half of 2025, up from $4.9 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to data from Egypt’s state statistics agency.
Nuweiba-Aqaba also benefits
Qenawi said demand has also risen on the Nuweiba-Aqaba route, which lets shippers move goods through Jordan and onward to regional markets, including Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
A source at Aqaba port, who asked not to be named, told Al Manassa that goods traffic from Egypt via the Nuweiba-Aqaba route usually ranges from 60 to 70 trucks, but has risen sharply in recent days, reaching 100 refrigerated containers on some days.
He said only about 10% of that increase could be directly attributed to the war, with the rest driven by seasonal demand during Ramadan and ahead of Eid Al-Fitr, though volumes could rise further if the crisis continues.
“In general, these routes remain partial solutions aimed at preventing trade from stopping altogether, but they cannot make up for the carrying capacity of vital maritime corridors,” Ahmed Abdel Hafez, head of Canal Shipping Agencies, told Al Manassa.
Abdel Hafez said the war’s eventual impact may not be entirely negative, as some companies could benefit from higher revenue as trade flows are redistributed.
