Pakistan, Oct. 17 -- When global shipping sneezes, trade-dependent economies catch a cold, pandemic aftershocks have given way to conflict-driven detours via the Cape of Good Hope, adding days to voyages, reconfiguring services, and pushing up operating costs. In such turbulence, ports that deliver predictability-fast vessel turns, clean documentation, reliable hinterland-win disproportionate volumes. Pakistan sits on premium sea lanes, yet we largely watched the storm pass. Geography isn't destiny when governance and digitisation lag behind the pace of commerce.

Carrier advisories and market reporting have been blunt about the Red Sea: diversions around Africa increased transit times and costs, forced service re-maps, and put pressure o...