Dubai is planning to build a new port and terminal to circumvent Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Passage through the vital shipping route – through which one-fifth of the world’s oil passes – has been disrupted since US-Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February.
Despite an interim agreement effectively opening up access to commercial vessels, a row has broken out over the interpretation of a clause relating to the waterway, sparking a resumption of hostilities between the US and Iran.
In response, Dubai-based port operator DP World is in talks to develop new facilities in the coastal area of Fujairah, people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times.
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The project would reduce dependence on the United Arab Emirates’ flagship Jebel Ali port and avoid any transit through Hormuz. Earlier this year the facility was struck by debris from an Iranian missile sparking a blaze.
Plans reportedly include a new terminal at the existing harbour and a brand new multipurpose port in Fujairah.
It would mark a significant shift for the country, which has relied on the Jebel Ali to establish itself as a major trade and finance hub.
Gulf officials said that the move did not mean that Jebel Ali would be completely replaced.
“Jebel Ali will continue to be Jebel Ali,” a senior company official told the FT. “It will never be downsized.”
DP World is expected to initially invest hundreds of millions of dollars to develop the project, but this number could rise.
“We do have our own plan, and we’ve been very active in terms of looking at the eastern coast as far as DP World is concerned. It’s defensive in case things go wrong,” the official continued.
As of April 2026, the UAE news agency estimates that Iran had fired a total of 438 ballistic missiles, 2,012 drones, and 19 cruise missiles at targets in the country in the outbreak of the conflict.
The FT reports that Iran has fired nearly 3,000 drones or missiles at the country in total.
Another tanker was hit by an Iranian missile off the coast of Oman, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said this morning, as Tehran stepped up attacks around the strait.
It said the ship was hit 13 nautical miles southeast of Oman’s Limah, while transiting on the southern route on Monday.
Two Emirati oil tankers were also struck by Iranian cruise missiles in the waterway, killing one Indian crew member and wounding eight others, the UAE defence ministry said on Monday.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said two “offending supertankers” were struck after ignoring warnings, turning off navigation systems and attempting to pass through “a mined route”.
Donald Trump reinstated a blockade of Iranian shipping and proposed charging a 20 per cent fee for transit.
