Splash247: Ports and pipelines reshape Middle East trade beyond Hormuz

Published by Splash247

DP World has confirmed plans for two major terminals on the UAE’s east coast, creating new cargo-handling capacity outside the Strait of Hormuz as war forces governments and logistics groups to redraw the Middle East’s transport map.

The Dubai-based operator has reached an agreement in principle with Fujairah Ports Authority for a 50-year concession covering the Al Rugaylat container and multipurpose terminal and the Dibba general cargo terminal.

Located on the Gulf of Oman, the facilities will allow cargo owners to access the UAE without navigating Hormuz, where attacks, restrictions and military operations have disrupted commercial traffic.

Al Rugaylat will be developed as a deepwater gateway capable of handling the latest ultra-large containerships. The terminal is designed for annual capacity of 2.5m teu, 1.7m tonnes of general cargo and 190,000 car equivalent units.

Dibba will add a further 3.6m tonnes of annual general cargo capacity.

Once operational, the terminals will lift DP World’s UAE container capacity from 19.4m teu to almost 22m teu. Construction is expected to take between 24 and 30 months and will be completed in phases.

The facilities will be connected to Jebel Ali and the Jebel Ali Free Zone through DP World’s inland logistics network, allowing cargo to move between the UAE’s Gulf and Indian Ocean-facing coasts.

“With Jebel Ali operating at high utilisation, this development provides the additional capacity to support long-term growth,” said DP World group chief executive Yuvraj Narayan. “For cargo owners, it means greater flexibility, more choice and stronger supply chain resilience.”

The project also gives DP World a physical hedge against prolonged instability in Hormuz, where much of the Gulf’s containerised, energy and industrial trade has traditionally been concentrated.

Sharjah-based rival Gulftainer is pursuing a similar strategy through Khorfakkan, another UAE port located outside the strait.

The operator plans to increase Khorfakkan Commercial Terminal’s capacity from 3.5m teu to 5m teu, with a longer-term target of more than 10m teu. The port will be connected with Al Dhaid and Sajaa logistics parks, which are expected to provide 2.3m teu of inland capacity.

Gulftainer is reorganising its operations around four platforms covering ports, logistics parks, maritime services and shipping, supported by artificial intelligence-powered supply-chain and payment systems.

The port investments form part of a much wider regional reconfiguration.

Shipbroker Poten & Partners said the effective closure of Hormuz had exposed around 20m barrels per day of crude oil and product flows to disruption, prompting governments to revive or accelerate pipelines bypassing the waterway.

Saudi Arabia is considering expanding its 7m barrel-per-day East-West pipeline by between 1m and 2m barrels per day, although additional export capacity would require upgrades at Yanbu, a port that this week has suffered a huge reversal in fortunes as the Houthis renewed their military campaign against Saudi ships in the Red Sea.

The UAE is moving faster. Its existing Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline carries up to 1.8m barrels per day from Habshan to Fujairah. Poten said the country plans to double that capacity to 3.6m barrels per day through a parallel pipeline, with completion potentially possible by mid-2027.

Iraq is examining routes to Turkey’s Ceyhan, Syria’s Baniyas and Jordan’s Aqaba, while Kuwait has discussed accessing Saudi Arabia’s westward pipeline network.

Most of the projects focus on crude oil, leaving around 5m barrels per day of refined products produced inside the Gulf exposed to any future Hormuz closure.