Five ports in the MENA region secured positions among the top 10 spots in the World Bank and S&P Global’s Container Port Performance Index(CPPI) 2022 (pdf), which assesses the operational performance of container ports worldwide. Topping the list is Salalah in Oman, which secured the second spot overall, unchanged from 2021. Following closely behind is Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa Port, which claimed the third position. Morocco’s Tangier-Mediterranean Port secured the fourth spot, Qatar’s Hamad Port secured the eighth position, while Egypt’s Port Said clinched the 10th spot.

In context: More than 80% of global merchandise trade is transported via sea routes, of which 35% is carried in containers, the index said. This means that the efficiency of container ports has become an essential “prerequisite for successful export-led growth strategies,” the index said.

The CPPI measures and ranks the efficiency and effectiveness of ports in handling containerized goods. The last index in 2021 (pdf) ranked the countries with two different methodologies — statistical and administrative — while the 2022 index relies on an aggregate score of both. This means that for some ports, which had different scores in 2021 depending on the methodology, we’re not able to accurately measure how their performance compares to last year.

Saudi ports — surprisingly — did not do well in this year’s ranking: King Abdullah Port in Saudi Arabia, which held the first place on the CPPI 2021 (pdf) index in 2021, saw a decline to the 17th position. Jeddah experienced a significant drop from 8th place in 2021 to 29th place in 2022. Similarly, Saudi’s Dammam’s ranking slipped from 14th place in 2021 to 31st place.

The discouraging declines in the operational efficiency of Saudi ports — after significant progress in the 2021 iteration of the index — comes despite the kingdom’s investments in its logistics performance and its ports. The kingdom wants to increase its port throughput to 40 mn TEU per year, Seatrade Maritime reports. Despite this setback, which serves as an indication that achieving the target could be challenging, Saudi Arabia made a noteworthy leap in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index (LPI), climbing 17 places to rank 38th globally.

Other GCC ports saw mixed performance, with Jebel Ali ranked in 38th place, the same ranking as in the 2021 CPPI’s statistical approach, and Sharjah ranked at 127, a significant improvement from both its rankings in 2021. Sohar Port in Oman experienced a slight decline, ranking at 49th, as opposed to 47th in 2021. Bahrain’ Khalifa Bin Salman Port ranked at 73. Meanwhile, Kuwait’s Shuwaikh Port stood at 142 and Shuaiba ranked at 121.

The Levant also saw mixed performance, with Lebanon’s ports scoring the worst between them on the index. Jordan’s Aqaba was ranked at 59, a downgrade compared with its position in the 30s in 2021. Lebanon’s Tripoli port was ranked 219th, while Beirut Port was ranked near the bottom 10 at 320, despite managing to reduce arrival time by 47.5% to 7.2 hours per port call. Syria’s Latakia stood at 177.

North African countries underperformed: Egypt’s Alexandria port is ranked at 268, with Sokhna just below it at 269. Bejaia in Algeria ranked at 256, while Morocco’s Casablanca stood at 159 on the index. Yemen’s port of Aden secured a position of 262. The Houthis have imposed a blockade on commercial goods transported from Aden to regions under their control, forcing merchants in Yemen to rely on Hodeidah Port, where the Houthis charge high taxes and fees. On the bright side, Aden was among the top 20 ports to reduce arrival times for ships, with a 77.2% reduction to just 13.8 hours.

Also included in the ranking: Iraq’s Umm Qasr, which is categorized as a medium port — with between 0.5-4 mn TEUs handled per year — held a ranking of 165, while Israel’s Haifa port was ranked at 56. Haifa was also one of the top 20 ports to reduce arrival times for ships, with a 47.6% improvement this year to 7.7 hours.

Overall, average port call times increased slightly in 2022 to 36.8 hours, up from 36.3 hours in 2021. The majority of ports in 2022 were still suffering from port congestion on the back of pandemic-induced demand and covid-19 restrictions. The fourth quarter of the year finally saw demand let up, with volumes reduced and many backlogs cleared.

Looking ahead: Average port arrival time globally is expected to continue to decline in 2023 to pre-2021 levels, the report estimates.