'Zero Hormuz dependency': How UAE plans to stop relying on waterway for shipping as US-Iran uncertainty continues

The threat level for shipping in the Strait of Hormuz may have reduced ahead of the US-Iran peace deal signing on Friday, but the UAE has decided to stop relying on the waterway altogether.

Though the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) downgraded its Hormuz threat assessment to “substantial” from “severe” on Tuesday, it has also warned that an attack is "still a strong possibility".

In that regard, the UAE plans to move towards what it calls "zero Hormuz dependency", regardless of the situation in the embattled strait, where threat levels have changed multiple times across the course of the three-month-long war.

The new plan is expected to build on the country's eastern ports, which have proven to be a lifeline amid the war, as they lie just outside the Strait of Hormuz, and have played a key role in exporting crude out of its existing Habshan-Fujairah pipeline.

According to a Bloomberg report citing the UAE’s Minister of Foreign Trade, Thani Al Zeyoudi, the major focus of the new plan will thus be to expand the ports of Dibba, Fujairah and Khor Fakkan on its eastern coast.

The UAE is also expected to build at least one other new harbour on its eastern coast to boost its exports of not only oil and petroleum products, but also other commodities that were impacted when the war choked Hormuz, which slashed its daily traffic to a fraction of the pre-war level.

Another key part of the plan is to boost investment into the pipelines, rail, and road networks that will connect these eastern ports to the country's energy facilities.

In that regard, Al Zeyoudi explained that the UAE was looking to build a third petroleum pipeline as a part of diversifying the ways it exports energy products.

This comes after the UAE government announced in May that it would fast-track the construction of the second pipeline, which would double the amount of crude it could export from Fujairah.

What about the UAE's other ports?

The announcement of the UAE's plans for Hormuz independence have also put the spotlight on the emirates' heavy dependence on ports like Khalifa and Jebel Ali—the world’s biggest container hub outside of Asia—for imports.

This is because moving certain goods from the eastern ports to the major cities will not just be time-consuming, but also expensive.

Al Zeyoudi, however, has promised that these extra costs could be balanced by a major railway expansion that would aid transshipment activities at Jebel Ali and Khalifa.

“The direction is already there, we’re doing the whole feasibility studies to move on ... During those tough times, you always identify your gaps and you start working on it," he said.