The story
Early history
Dubai Ports International (DPI) was founded in 1999. Its first project was at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, collaborating with a local partner on the South Container Terminal (SCT). DPI then began operations at the ports of Djibouti in 2000, Vizag, India in 2002 and Constanța, Romania in 2003. In January 2005, DPI acquired CSX World Terminals (CSX WT). In September 2005 Dubai Ports International officially merged with the Dubai Ports Authority to form DP World. The rapid expansion through acquisition continued in March 2006 when DP World purchased the fourth largest ports operator in the world, P&O, for £3.9 billion.
P&O operated major US port facilities in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans, and Miami. Before the deal was secured, the arrangement was reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States headed by the US Treasury Department and including the Departments of State, Commerce, and Homeland Security. It was given the green light, but soon after, both Democratic and Republican members of Congress expressed concern over the potential negative impact the deal would have on port security.
On 22 February 2006, President George W. Bush threatened to veto any legislation passed by Congress to block the deal, which would be the first time in his presidency he would exercise the privilege. In a statement to reporters, Bush claimed, "It would send a terrible signal to friends and allies not to let this transaction go through." On 23 February 2006, DP World volunteered to postpone its takeover of significant operations at the seaports and on 9 March 2006, it said that it would transfer its operations of American ports to a "US entity".
The United States House of Representatives held a vote on 16 March 2006 on legislation that would have blocked the DP World deal, with 348 members voting for blocking the deal, and 71 voting against. DP World later sold P&O's American operations to American International Group's asset management division, Global Investment Group for an undisclosed sum.
In August 2006, DP World signed an agreement with the Port Qasim Authority, to invest in a new container terminal at Port Muhammad Qasim near Karachi and announced that it was in discussions with the Pakistani Government about the development of a container terminal at Gwadar in Balochistan. DP World had been favourite to win the Gwadar concession, but withdrew from the bidding. Gwadar Port was subsequently awarded to PSA (Port of Singapore Authority) and opened in March 2007.
2006: US Port security
The ownership of various US ports by DP World (which had been acquired as part of the P&O deal) was seen as controversial by many in the United States even though it was supported by the US president George W. Bush; the US ports were sold shortly afterwards.
2022: UK mass redundancy
On 17 March 2022, P&O Ferries sacked its entire British work force and abruptly suspended its operations, cancelling all sailings and offloading passengers and cargo. Eight hundred UK staff were told in a video call that their employment was "terminated with immediate effect due to redundancy", and that their work would in future be undertaken by staff contracted to a third-party supplier. A spokesman for the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers said that there had been no consultation with the staff or trade unions. Staff on some ferries refused to leave their vessels. Some replacement staff, unaware of the circumstances or location of their deployment, declined to work, and a recruitment agency who supplied replacement staff said that they were unaware of the plans.
The method of the expulsion, overseen by ex-military security guards, has been criticised by government and business leaders, and Mark Russell, a non-executive director of DP World, resigned afterwards in disagreement. P&O Ferries had recently seen losses during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as deficits in its pension fund. Industry sources have also cited its high overheads and competition from Irish Ferries as contributory factors. Verity Slater, expert in maritime employment law at Stephens Scown, commented that P&O may not have to follow UK employment laws, since some of its ships are not registered in Britain.
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Recent history
In June 2007 the company raised $3.25 billion in Islamic and conventional bond sales to refinance existing debt and fund expansion and issued 3.818 billion shares, representing 20% of the company on the NASDAQ Dubai stock exchange in November 2007 in what was the Middle East's largest initial public offering (IPO) which raised 4.96 billion dollars.
By 2008 the company was handing 46.8 million TEU worldwide, up 8% on 2007, with expansion and development projects in India, China, the Middle East, and elsewhere. Capacity was expected to rise to around 95 million TEU over the next ten years.
In December 2009 Moody's downgraded DP World's financial status to junk after the Dubai 2009 debt standstill.
In the second quarter of 2010 DP World gave the go-ahead for construction of the £1.5 billion London Gateway port. Work started in February 2010 with the port due to open in the fourth quarter of 2013. By April 2011, Moody's upgraded DP World's financial status to 'investment grade'. Since December 2010, DP World has undertaken a series of asset disposals, exiting markets where it does not have a significant presence and seeking to redeploy funds in fast-growing markets.
On 20 February 2019, DP World announced it had repurchased P&O Ferries from Dubai World in a £322m deal.
In June 2019 DP World signed agreements with the Russian Direct Investment Fund, ROSATOM, and Norilsk Nickel aiming to develop the Northern Sea Route.
In March 2021, the company said that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it had witnessed a drop of its profits by 29% comparing to 2019. In May of the same year, Abdulla Bin Damithan was appointed as CEO and managing director of UAE business. In October, coinciding with the launch of Expo 2020, DP World unveiled its new corporate identity. DP World is an official premier partner of Expo 2020.
In March 2023, sold its shares in Le Havre terminals and consolidate its operations in Marseille-Fos Port by maintaining a 50:50 ownership.
In November 2023, a cyberattack on DP World paralysed imports and exports in Australia for several days. DP World accounts for about 40% of Australia's imports and exports, leading to a 30,000-container backlog; additionally, data was stolen.
On 14 October 2024, DP World announced a £1 billion expansion plan of the London Gateway port at the London investment summit, despite criticism from the UK ministers. The investment was previously under review, after Louise Haigh called DP World's subsidiary, P&O Ferries, a "rogue operator" for sacking 800 seafarers in March 2022. She had also urged consumers to boycott the company. Offended by Haigh's comments, DP World had threatened to pull out of the investment summit. However, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem later confirmed to attend the summit and for the investment to go ahead as planned. On 27 October, Ukraine's Oleksandr Merezhko condemned DP World's cooperation with Moscow, referring to Russian involvement in Ukraine war. He urged the UK ministers to cut ties with the firm due to its controversial business deals with Rosatom.
In March 2025, works started on the expansion on London Gateway to make it the UK's largest container port.
In May 2025, DP World announced a plan to invest US $2.5 billion in major logistics and port infrastructure projects across India, Africa, South America, and Europe to enlarge supply chain capabilities. In India, a $510 million terminal at Tuna Tekra, Gujarat, featuring a 1.1 km quay and annual capacity of 2.19 million TEUs. In Europe, investments include the ongoing expansion of London Gateway, and new developments in South America.
In 2026, Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem announced his resignation from the company due to his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Multiple companies had announced that they would stop working with DP World amid reporting on Sulayem's extensive ties to Epstein.
In July 2026, the Maritime Union of Australia called for a 28-hour working week without reduction in pay during negotiations over DP World's increasing use of artificial intelligence and automation at its Australian container terminals which, according to a study commissioned by the union, could affect up to 1,000 dock and maintenance jobs.
On 9 October 2026, DP World signed a deal with Chittagong Port Authority of Bangladesh to operate its New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) for 15 years. The decision was protested by labour groups of Chittagong port and several rights groups of Bangladesh claiming it as a threat to national security and sovereignty.
From Wikipedia’s article on DP World, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5