Maaden ships first DAP cargo through Oman’s Duqm port, cutting freight costs to India by nearly half

Saudi phosphate producer Maaden will load a 60,000-tonne DAP cargo at Duqm, Oman, in late August or early September for shipment to India, marking the company’s first use of the Arabian Sea port to bypass the closed Strait of Hormuz. A separate 55,000-tonne DAP cargo sold to East African buyers earlier in August will also ship from Duqm in September, according to Argus Media.

The switch to Duqm cuts freight costs sharply. Argus reports that shipping a 60,000-tonne bulk DAP cargo from Duqm to India runs in the low $20s per tonne, compared with roughly $40 per tonne from Saudi Red Sea ports. Maaden had been trucking product overland from its Ras Al-Khair production complex on the Gulf coast to Yanbu on the Red Sea after the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed in late February. Houthi militant threats to Saudi-linked shipping near Bab El-Mandeb in late July raised risk premiums further, making Yanbu loadings commercially less attractive for eastbound trade.

Maaden trimmed its 2026 phosphate production guidance to the equivalent of 6 million to 6.5 million tonnes of DAP in its latest quarterly results, citing a lack of sulfur and elevated logistics costs. The company’s decision to route through Duqm signals a longer-term logistics shift — congestion at Omani ports is reportedly high, pushing up demurrage rates, and war risk premiums still apply to shipments across the region. The Sabic-Maaden MoU signed in August to explore collaboration in the fertilizer value chain adds another strategic dimension as both producers adapt to the Hormuz disruption.

Source: World Fertilizer