DP World Confirms Shutdown of SeaRates Digital Freight Platform
Key Takeaways
- •DP World confirmed it will stop using the SeaRates business globally as part of a review and simplification of its operations, without providing further details.
- •DP World acquired SeaRates in 2020 to expand beyond ports into digitally enabled end-to-end logistics.
- •SeaRates founder Sergey Dzhashytov said companies that relied on the platform's services were already seeking alternatives, and no transition guidance had been posted as of Thursday.
- •The discontinuation follows a broader retrenchment in digital freight, including Convoy's 2023 shutdown and consolidation of other logistics-tech ventures.
- •It remains unknown how the decision will affect the Digital Freight Alliance, a DP World-established global forwarder network.
Port terminal operator DP World has confirmed that it is discontinuing SeaRates, its standalone digital logistics platform.
"Reorganization and restructuring are a normal part of managing a global business," the company said in a statement to FreightWaves. "Our business priorities have evolved, and as part of the normal course of reviewing and simplifying our operations, we are no longer using the SeaRates business globally." The company provided no further details.
In a LinkedIn post, SeaRates founder Sergey Dzhashytov said he had been receiving questions about the "discontinuation of SeaRates digital services" and noted that companies that relied on those services were seeking alternatives. His public profile indicates that his DP World operating role ended in March 2026, and that his listed tenure as founder and chief executive of SeaRates.com ended in May 2026.
As of Thursday, the SeaRates website was still operating, with no public announcement posted there or on the DP World site.
SeaRates is a third-party marketplace and freight-booking platform offering quotes, ERP, tracking, rate-management and white-label products. DP World acquired the company in 2020, describing the deal at the time as an important step in its effort to extend its role beyond ports and terminals and into digitally enabled, end-to-end logistics. The acquisition came during a period when freight digitization drew heavy investment, as shipping demand surges and rate volatility during the pandemic made instant quoting and online booking tools attractive to forwarders and shippers.
The retrenchment since then has been broad. Digital freight brokerage Convoy shut down in 2023 before its technology was acquired by Flexport, and multiple logistics-technology ventures have been consolidated or folded as freight rates normalized and funding tightened. SeaRates' discontinuation is the latest example of a larger operator unwinding a standalone digital marketplace rather than continuing to run it as a separate brand.
It also remains unknown how the decision could affect the Digital Freight Alliance, a global network of forwarders established by DP World.
The reported move may indicate that DP World is narrowing its technology focus toward platforms more closely integrated with its core logistics, terminal and cargo-flow operations. For customers of SeaRates' quote, tracking and white-label tools, the immediate practical question is migration: Dzhashytov's post noted that companies that relied on those services were already seeking alternatives, and with no transition guidance posted on either company's website as of Thursday, affected users will be watching for official follow-up on data export, contract wind-down and replacement options.
