DP World to develop, deploy autonomous logistics with SHIFFT at Jebel Ali Port

DFF announced a partnership with DP World on November 6, 2026. DP World will be the first strategic partner for SHIFFT, a joint venture focused on autonomous logistics. Development and deployment of autonomous logistics solutions will begin at Jebel Ali Port, with potential expansion to more than 60 ports and terminals operated by DP World also under consideration.

SHIFFT will develop systems for transport operations handled by more than 900 vehicles at Jebel Ali Port. These will cover not only autonomous driving but also fleet management, safety verification and route control. For port operators, the challenge is to design operations suited to existing technology environments and mixed-use sites, rather than automating vehicles individually.

The fleet of more than 900 vehicles operating at Jebel Ali Port offers a clue that the plan is not simply to introduce autonomous driving in individual vehicles, but to integrate it into the port’s logistics operations. The areas covered include vehicle integration and autonomous driving, as well as safety verification, fleet coordination, traffic and route management, digital twins and situational awareness. In other words, the design appears to address the entire system, from functions that move vehicles to systems that operate multiple vehicles in complex environments and monitor their status. The announced information does not specify the implementation sequence or how the various functions will be integrated. The scale of the effort also requires careful interpretation. DP World operates thousands of vehicles across more than 60 ports and terminals worldwide, but the announcement names Jebel Ali Port as the starting point for deployment and describes expansion to other sites only as a possibility. It does not mean that deployment across its global sites has been decided. At the same time, the company says it will develop solutions suited to its existing fleet and operating environment, making integration with existing technology a key implementation issue in addition to vehicle autonomy. The announcement also says DP World will contribute operational expertise on safety and employee reskilling, pointing to a structure that connects technology development with field operations. A story covered by this newspaper, Google DeepMind looks back on 15 years of game research and announces a new partnership, concerned AI research using games and partnerships with game developers. SHIFFT, by contrast, focuses on real-world port logistics. There is no information indicating technical collaboration between the two efforts or transfer of results. The comparison is limited to the different requirements for AI use in research settings and in logistics operations involving actual vehicles, safety and traffic. The next questions are which vehicles and tasks will be automated, how deployment numbers and timing will be set, and what criteria will be used to assess safety. The announcement outlined areas of functionality and a starting location but did not specify deployment scale, a detailed schedule or metrics for measuring operational results. Whether the possibility of expansion to more than 60 sites leads to actual deployment at multiple locations will also require confirmation in future announcements.

SHIFFT is a venture launched by DFF in partnership with Oxa and is part of the Dubai Research, Development and Innovation Program. Development will cover vehicle systems integration, autonomous driving capabilities, safety verification frameworks, fleet management and coordination, traffic management and route planning, operations in mixed-use environments, digital twins, situational awareness systems and operational performance optimization. According to announcements by DFF and Oxa, DP World operates more than 900 vehicles at Jebel Ali Port to move containers between terminals and transport cargo between quay cranes, yards and gates. The company also operates thousands of vehicles across more than 60 ports and terminals worldwide. SHIFFT’s integrated solutions will be developed to work with DP World’s current and future technology environments.