AD Ports expands feeder shipping power
AD Ports Group Raises Global Feeder Shipping Stake to 81% for Enhanced Logistics Integration
Key Points
In 2025, Global Feeder Shipping (GFS) moved 2.8 million TEUs and completed over 700 voyages across 89 ports in 54 countries, underscoring its role as a high-volume core asset for AD Ports Group.
Since AD Ports Group acquired its initial 51% stake in GFS in February 2024, the company has generated cumulative EBITDA of more than AED 1.8 billion, illustrating strong short-term cash generation from the asset.
Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Managing Director and Group CEO of AD Ports Group, stated that increasing ownership allows deeper integration and accelerates the journey to enable trade for stakeholders, aligned with the leadership’s vision.
AD Ports Group describes GFS as among its most strategically significant assets, reinforcing its container feeder shipping business and the broader end-to-end trade and logistics offering.
AD Ports Group has raised its stake in Global Feeder Shipping (GFS) to 81%, paying AED 1.1 billion (about $300 million) for an additional 30% of the Dubai-based shipping line. The deal, exercised through a call option locked in at pre-war prices, keeps GFS's total enterprise value at AED 3.67 billion — or roughly $1 billion. Splash247 reported the move as AD Ports tightening its grip on one of the region's most critical maritime assets.
The timing is notable. The acquisition comes as the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted following the 2026 Iran War, putting feeder shipping — the smaller vessels that carry cargo between regional ports — at the centre of Gulf trade. GFS is the world's fourth-largest container feeder line by capacity. In 2025 alone, it moved 2.8 million TEUs (standard shipping containers) across 89 ports in 54 countries.
A Call Option That Beat the War's Price Surge
AD Ports first bought a 51% stake in GFS in February 2024. At that time, it negotiated a call option — a right to buy more shares at a fixed price — before December 2026. That locked-in price proved extremely valuable. The Strait of Hormuz crisis in early 2026 made feeder shipping far more valuable overnight. AD Ports bought its extra 30% at "pre-war prices," according to ZAWYA.
The enterprise value stayed flat at AED 3.67 billion ($1 billion), the same figure agreed in 2024. Given that commercial vessel crossings through the Strait dropped from 80 per day to single digits after March 4, 2026, the strategic value of a fully-owned feeder network had risen sharply. AD Ports effectively got a bargain.
GFS Generated AED 1.8 Billion Since AD Ports Took Over
Since the 51% acquisition in February 2024, GFS has generated cumulative EBITDA — earnings before interest, taxes, and other costs — of more than AED 1.8 billion. That is a striking return in under two years. Container News reported that the deal will be funded through a mix of debt and asset sales, including a broader AED 4.6 billion program to offload non-core assets.
AD Ports Group posted revenue of AED 20.8 billion in 2025, up 20% from the year before, with net profit rising 17% to AED 2.1 billion. The group also turned free cash flow positive for the first time since its listing, according to its 2025 Annual Report. That financial strength gave it the room to act on the call option now.
Feeder Ships Become the Glue Holding Gulf Trade Together
As the Strait of Hormuz crisis deepened, major global carriers rerouted ships around the Cape of Good Hope. That left a gap in the Middle East. Smaller feeder vessels — which connect regional ports to larger trade hubs — filled it. S&P Global's Peter Tirschwell put it plainly: "The enormity of the impact of that conflict... really came home. The idea that this was going to be a calmer year is totally off the table now."
GFS completed more than 700 voyages in 2025, running routes across the GCC, Red Sea, Indian Subcontinent, Far East, Mediterranean, and Africa. Trade Arabia noted that AD Ports sees GFS as central to keeping cargo moving for the region even during sustained maritime disruption. By owning 81%, AD Ports controls that network outright.
CEO Says Deeper Ownership Means Deeper Integration
Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, AD Ports Group's Managing Director and CEO, framed the deal as more than a financial move. He said: "Our increased ownership in GFS allows us to deepen its integration within the Group's portfolio... connecting our ports to more economies across the Red Sea and the Gulf at a time when reliable trade connectivity matters most." Container News quoted him directly.
AD Ports plans to link GFS more tightly with its ports, economic cities, and logistics hubs — including KEZAD, the Khalifa Economic Zones in Abu Dhabi. That kind of end-to-end control, from port to feeder vessel to warehouse, is the same model used by global giants like Maersk and DP World. For AD Ports, GFS is the missing piece that completes the chain.
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