Dp World strengthens India–Middle East links
Dp World is enhancing the reliability of connections between India and the Middle East with the acquisition of the containership Dp World Chennai, a unit of more than 5,000 TEU, now integrated into the Red Sea–Gulf–India service. According to the company, the vessel’s inaugural call at Jebel Ali increases Shipping Solutions’ owned container capacity to more than 6 million TEU and helps improve schedule reliability across key regional markets. The move forms part of a strategy that combines owned assets, continued investment and closer integration between port and maritime services, with the aim of making logistics flows along the India–Middle East corridor more predictable. The company stresses that strengthening the fleet is not solely intended to expand capacity, but also to enhance operational flexibility, a key factor in ensuring on-time deliveries within increasingly integrated supply chains. The initiative comes at a time of growing trade volumes in the region. At the beginning of the year, Shipping Solutions reached 15th place in Alphaliner’s global Top 50 ranking, an indicator of the network’s competitive positioning. At the same time, Dp World announced a five-billion-dollar investment plan (around €4.6 billion) over the coming years to support India’s trade infrastructure and signed a memorandum of understanding with Sagarmala Finance Corporation Limited, a public company under India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, to develop cabotage services and sustainable short-sea shipping connections in the country.
Containership collision in the port of Santos
On the evening of 16 February 2026 at 21:30 local time, the Singapore-flagged containership Seaspan Empire collided with the ferries FB-14 and FB-15 in the channel of the port of Santos, Brazil’s main container hub. The two vessels operating on the Santos–Guarujá crossing were carrying no passengers or vehicles and had only four crew members on board, who jumped into the water before the impact and were rescued without injury. The incident occurred while the approximately 294-metre-long vessel was leaving the channel towards the anchorage area due to the lack of an available berth, and the ferries were conducting a support manoeuvre, with FB-15 assisting the out-of-service FB-14, which was under tow. Footage released shows the containership pushing the smaller vessels towards the quay, highlighting a significant potential risk mitigated by the crews’ response. The Autoridade Portuária de Santos (Santos Port Authority) stated that there was no impact on commercial navigation and no suspension of container operations, and that the vessel subsequently berthed at the Dp World terminal in the early hours of 17 February. The Capitania dos Portos de São Paulo (São Paulo Port Authority Harbourmaster’s Office) has opened an investigation to establish the causes and responsibilities, including an analysis of manoeuvres, VHF communications and coordination procedures.
