DP World to Expand Fujairah Port, Bypassing Strait of Hormuz

A New Gateway Outside the Gulf

DP World, the UAE’s state-linked ports and logistics operator, has confirmed it is moving ahead with plans to build new terminal capacity at Fujairah, on the Gulf of Oman coast, as an alternative route that avoids the Strait of Hormuz. According to a report by Maritime Executive, the project follows months of speculation that Dubai was accelerating efforts to build container and general cargo facilities outside the Gulf proper, in a region where the Hormuz chokepoint has become increasingly exposed to geopolitical risk.

Terms of the Deal

DP World and the Fujairah Ports Authority have reached an agreement in principle covering a 50-year concession. The scheme includes two new facilities: the Al Rugaylat container terminal and the Dibba General Cargo terminal, a multi-purpose facility. Fujairah Ports Authority Chairman Sheikh Saleh Bin Mohamed Al Sharqi described the tie-up with DP World as a significant step in Fujairah’s growth as a regional maritime hub. The companies have not disclosed the value of the investment, though the project is reportedly being treated as a high priority.

Capacity and Scale

Once built, Al Rugaylat is intended to handle up to 2.5 million TEUs a year, plus 1.7 million tonnes of general cargo and 190,000 car equivalent units, while Dibba is designed to add 3.6 million tonnes of annual general cargo throughput. DP World says Al Rugaylat will be built to accommodate the newest ultra-large container vessels, positioning Fujairah as a deep-water alternative on the UAE’s east coast.

Combined, the new terminals would lift DP World’s total UAE container capacity from roughly 19.4 million TEUs to nearly 22 million TEUs. For comparison, Fujairah currently handles just over 720,000 TEU annually and functions mainly as an oil terminal and general cargo port, while Jebel Ali — built on the world’s largest man-made harbor with 67 berths — already handles more than 22 million TEU a year on its own. Construction of the first phase at Fujairah is expected to take between 24 and 30 months once work begins.

Linking East and West Coast Operations

DP World says the Fujairah development will be integrated with Jebel Ali through its inland logistics network, allowing cargo to move between ports, logistics hubs, and end markets without transiting Hormuz. This follows related moves already announced to extend oil pipelines toward the Gulf of Oman coastline, part of a broader UAE strategy to reduce dependence on the strait for both energy and container trade.

What It Means for Owners, Managers, and Surveyors

For ship owners and charterers, an operational alternative to Hormuz is significant even years before it becomes fully functional, because it signals that regional infrastructure planners expect chokepoint disruption to remain a persistent, not occasional, risk. A working east-coast gateway would give vessel operators routing options during periods of heightened tension in the Gulf, potentially reducing exposure to transit delays, insurance surcharges, or security-related rerouting that have periodically affected Hormuz traffic.

From an inspection and survey standpoint, the emergence of a new deep-water terminal capable of handling ultra-large container vessels and expanded Ro-Ro and general cargo volumes will likely increase demand for condition surveys, cargo hold inspections, and draft surveys at a port that has historically been oriented toward bunkering and oil handling rather than dry cargo. As Fujairah’s role diversifies, technical superintendents calling there for the first time on container or general cargo business should expect to need updated local survey and inspection support rather than relying on established Jebel Ali arrangements. It also raises a practical question for planners: how quickly will ancillary services — bunkering, surveying, ship agency — scale up to match the terminal’s stated capacity targets, and will that growth keep pace with construction timelines.

DP World has not yet detailed a firm start date for construction, and both companies declined to disclose the financial scale of the investment. As with any large-scale port development, the real test will be whether the project delivers on schedule and whether shipping lines actually shift volumes to the new route once it opens.

Reviewed by Ibrahim Halil Ceylan, Marine Surveyor at Apeks Marine.