UAE: Fujairah resumes oil loadings after drone strike tests Hormuz bypass in International Shipping News 15/03/2026 Operations at the United Arab Emirates’ strategic port of Fujairah have resumed following a temporary suspension triggered by a drone attack on Saturday, providing a critical “safety valve” for energy markets as regional hostilities intensify. The facility, which serves as the terminal for a 370-kilometer pipeline allowing the UAE to bypass the contested Strait of Hormuz, is once again loading crude after local authorities successfully extinguished a blaze caused by intercepted drone debris. Fujairah’s recovery and the Hormuz bottleneck The resumption of loading at Fujairah is a pivotal development for global supply chains, given that the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shuttered due to the ongoing war between the U.S.-Israel coalition and Iran. The port sits outside the immediate naval blockade, but Saturday’s strike highlights the “asymmetric risks” now facing energy infrastructure across the Gulf. Market sources confirmed that tankers began docking early Sunday, though state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) has yet to issue a formal statement. The port’s survival as an export hub is paramount as Brent crude trades near the $100-per-barrel mark. Analysts suggest that any prolonged disruption at Fujairah would leave the UAE, the OPEC+ bloc’s third-largest producer, with virtually no exit route for its 3.2 million barrels of daily production. The “Hormuz-bypass” strategy has transitioned from a theoretical hedge to the nation’s primary economic lifeline as the naval theater of the war expands. Escalation and global energy strains The strike on Fujairah coincides with a sharp escalation in the U.S.-Israel-Iran war. Following the massive February 28 strikes on Iranian energy facilities, the conflict has shifted into a “war of attrition” targeting regional shipping and logistics. In the U.S., the Trump administration is facing mounting pressure to secure these corridors as domestic energy costs climb, while the IEA’s record 400-million-barrel reserve release, including 80 million barrels from Japan, aims to buffer the price shock. Institutional investors are now focused on whether the UAE can maintain this “operational neutrality” as the conflict enters its third week. As oil prices consistently trade above previous fiscal guardrails, the stability of Fujairah is no longer just a logistical concern, but a prerequisite for regional fiscal solvency and global market stability. Source: Investing.com 2026-03-15 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); tweet Share