Welsh ports and businesses on alert as Middle East conflict impacts UK trade routes

The deepening crisis in the Middle East is sending shockwaves far beyond the Gulf states, with extensive flight disruption affecting both freight and business travel and important shipping routes being brought to a standstill.

At the heart of the maritime disruption lies the escalating instability across key routes, from the Red Sea to the Strait of Hormuz. These shipping corridors are critical to the movement of goods between Asia, the Middle East and Europe and crucial to global energy security. When they falter, the effects are soon felt thousands of miles away.

Nowhere is this disruption felt more acutely than in UK ports, including those in Wales. Our ports, with their extensive partnership networks and supply chains, once again find themselves on the frontline of a rapidly shifting global trade landscape, calling on all their processes, technology and experience to manage irregular arrivals, congestion risks and fluctuating volumes, all while maintaining efficiency.

Just a few months ago, the world was talking about tariffs, after President Donald Trump announced that his administration was introducing fresh tariffs affecting a range of global imports and exports. For UK port operators, this added another layer of complexity, altering trade flows, dampening demand in certain sectors and forcing exporters and shipping companies to reassess routes and markets.

The combined effect of geopolitical conflict and shifting trade policy has created an unusually volatile operating environment for ports already under strain. Recent developments in the Middle East have only intensified those pressures, raising fears of fuel shortages and price volatility in the UK. Meanwhile, attacks on commercial shipping and the suspension of operations at major ports in the region have forced shipping lines to reroute or delay voyages.

For UK ports, the implications are immediate: longer transit times, higher costs and growing uncertainty. For ports in Wales, the stakes are particularly high. Milford Haven is one of the UK’s largest energy ports and a key destination for LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) shipments from Qatar and any sustained disruption to Gulf exports has implications for throughput, pricing and storage dynamics that could impact the UK’s entire energy system.

The knock-on effect for businesses and consumers is also stark. Shipping giant, Maersk, has already told the BBC that increased transport costs driven by the conflict will ultimately be passed onto consumers, with freight costs jumping by around 20% and oil price rises already impacting on heating oil.

In this volatile environment, effective communication by port owners and operators is no longer a ‘nice to have’ but a strategic necessity. Shipping lines, hauliers and cargo owners require real-time visibility of port conditions, meaning clear, consistent messaging can help mitigate disruption, enabling them to plan around delays and reroute cargo efficiently.

Equally, communication with government, businesses and local communities is critical. Ports are key pieces of national infrastructure and drivers of national and regional economies, with thousands of businesses and individuals relying on their services. This makes transparency around operational risks, contingency plans and investment priorities important factors in building resilience and maintaining trust.

Freshwater’s sister company – Waterfront – will host the UK Ports Conference in June, while our events team is working alongside the British Ports Association to deliver its annual conference and exhibition in October. These two important events provide invaluable opportunities for government, advisors and industry leaders to come together and discuss solutions to the biggest challenges facing the sector – and they don’t come much bigger than this.

The conflict in the Middle East has once again thrown a spotlight on ports and their role in facilitating global trade and sustaining economic growth. While the current conflict may eventually subside, there is an increasing feeling that global volatility is becoming the new normal.

UK ports and their logistics partners will continue to drive innovation in technology, digitalisation and information-sharing, while Welsh and UK businesses remain committed to exploring opportunities to export products and services to new international markets.

However, with global logistics being influenced as much by politics as it is by infrastructure, navigating this reality needs to be a team effort to build resilience and deliver success.

This column appeared in the Western Mail on 20 March 2026 and was written by our director, Aled Edwards.