DP World, the state-controlled ports operator, is advancing plans to construct a new multipurpose port and container terminal on the UAE’s east coast, a move that would allow cargo to enter and leave the country without transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The initiative follows a near-total collapse in activity at Jebel Ali, the region’s largest container port, where throughput fell by 90 to 95 per cent after Iran blocked the waterway in retaliation for US-Israeli military strikes, according to people familiar with the matter. An Iranian missile attack in March also set parts of the Jebel Ali facility ablaze.

The proposed development in the emirate of Fujairah, on the Gulf of Oman, would enable container ships to bypass the strait entirely. Goods could then be moved overland by truck to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and neighbouring Gulf states. Officials in Dubai say the project could be completed within 18 months, with initial investment expected to run to hundreds of millions of dollars, though the final structure and financing have yet to be agreed. DP World has declined to confirm details but acknowledged it is actively studying options on the east coast as a ‘defensive’ measure to secure trade flows.

The UAE has been the Gulf state most exposed to the conflict. Almost 3,000 drones and missiles have struck its territory since late February, hitting airports, military bases and energy infrastructure. In response, Abu Dhabi is accelerating a broader strategy to reduce its economic dependence on the strait. It quit OPEC in April to free itself from production caps, and is fast-tracking a west-east pipeline that would double crude export capacity via Fujairah. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, is planning an additional pipeline to the Red Sea, while Iraq and Kuwait are also studying alternative export corridors. In Oman, the state logistics group Asyad and French shipping line CMA CGM have announced a $400m terminal at Sohar, designed to link Gulf destinations by land to ports outside the strait.

Viewed from Washington, the US has declared itself the ‘guardian’ of Hormuz and demanded a 20 per cent levy on cargo passing through, while reimposing a naval blockade on Iranian ports. Gulf officials insist the Fujairah project does not signal the decline of Jebel Ali, which will retain its free zone and decades-old infrastructure. But the shift in investment towards the east coast reflects a structural reassessment of risk. The next milestone will be a final investment decision on the Fujairah port, which DP World aims to operationalise within a year and a half, even as the interim US-Iran ceasefire frays and daily ship transits through Hormuz remain at barely 40, down from 135 before the war.