In Edition 02, we featured how ISS Global Forwarding developed a multi-gateway solution to keep critical raw materials moving into the UAE amid the regional conflict and disruption to established supply chains.

Since then, the operating environment across the GCC has remained challenging. At the same time, ISS GF has expanded its manufacturing logistics capabilities beyond the UAE, supporting major aluminium producers in Qatar and Bahrain alongside its growing UAE operation. The requirements differ by market, but the objective remains consistent: protecting the flow of raw materials that manufacturing operations depend on.

UAE: From Critical Response to Large-Scale Warehousing

What began as a solution for maintaining critical raw-material flows into the UAE has evolved substantially. Alongside the multi-gateway routing, vessel chartering, specialised handling and inland transportation featured in Edition 02, ISS GF’s scope has expanded significantly into warehousing.

The operation now encompasses approximately 125,000 MT of cargo, representing around 110,000 jumbo bags handled through a 50,000 sqm warehousing footprint.

At ISS GF’s Jebel Ali warehouse, containers are grounded and destuffed before the cargo is unloaded using specialised forklifts and cranes. Following handling and storage, the cargo is reloaded onto flatbed trailers for final delivery to the production facility. Supporting this scale, ISS GF has handled approximately 5,700 truck movements, connecting the flow of cargo between gateways, warehousing and the customer’s production requirements.

What began as a response to disrupted supply routes has grown into a substantial logistics and warehousing operation supporting the customer’s ongoing raw-material supply chain.

Bahrain: First 38,000-ton Vessel Charter

ISS GF has also extended its vessel chartering capability to support a major aluminium producer in Bahrain. The first operation involved approximately 38,000 tons of bagged alumina, chartered by vessel from China to Duqm, Oman.

At this scale, the movement adds another substantial industrial charter to ISS GF’s growing GCC manufacturing portfolio and builds on the vessel chartering capabilities already deployed for customers in the UAE and Qatar.

Qatar: Six Vessel Charters Through an Alternative Multimodal Route

In Qatar, ISS GF has extended the same combination of chartering and regional execution to support another major aluminium producer, handling more than 30,000 tons of raw materials across six vessel charters.

The movements included one charter carrying aluminum ingots, while the remaining five charters transported rawmaterial alumina.

With conventional maritime access affected by continued regional disruption, the cargo required an alternative multimodal routing. ISS GF deployed more than 1,000 trailers to move cargo from Sohar to Dubai, where it was consolidated and loaded onto chartered vessels for onward movement to Hamad Port in Qatar.

Across the six charters, the operation brought together large-scale cross-border trucking, cargo consolidation, port handling and dedicated vessel capacity within a single solution.

The scale and repeat nature of the movements are particularly significant. Rather than responding to a single shipment requirement, ISS GF has established a repeatable operating model capable of maintaining substantial raw-material flows across borders as regional conditions continue to challenge established freight routes.

Building a Broader GCC Manufacturing Logistics Capability

Taken together, the three operations demonstrate how a capability initially deployed to protect critical raw-material flows into the UAE has developed into a broader manufacturing logistics proposition across the GCC.

Importantly, this expansion has taken place against a backdrop of continued regional disruption, where established freight routings, capacity and supply chains remain under pressure.

For manufacturers, resilience is ultimately measured by whether critical raw materials continue to reach the right place when production needs them. Across the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain, ISS GF is applying that capability at increasing scale – keeping industrial supply chains moving through a challenging regional operating environment.