Drone Strike Disrupts Operations at UAE’s Fujairah Port

WANA (Mar 14) – The Port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, considered one of the seven major energy arteries of the Persian Gulf, was targeted by a drone attack early Saturday, March 14, 2026, causing a fire and the suspension of part of its oil loading operations.

According to reports, portions of oil loading activities at the port were halted following the drone strike and the resulting blaze. Informed sources confirmed the incident.

Located on the UAE’s eastern coast outside the Strait of Hormuz, Fujairah is one of the world’s largest hubs for the storage and transfer of oil and petroleum products and also serves as the region’s largest marine fuel bunkering center.

Strategic Importance of Fujairah

The Fujairah terminal features multiple berths capable of accommodating very large oil tankers and has extensive storage capacity. The Fujairah oil zone currently holds nearly 70 million barrels of petroleum product storage capacity across 15 major storage complexes, operated by companies including Vopak and VTTI.

The Habshan–Fujairah pipeline, with a maximum capacity of about 2 million barrels per day, connects the port to Abu Dhabi’s oil fields, providing the UAE with an alternative export route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz.

Second Attack on Fujairah During the War

This is not the first time Fujairah has been targeted during the ongoing conflict. On March 3, 2026, debris from a downed drone triggered a fire at the Fujairah oil terminal.

At that time, JSW Infrastructure confirmed that one of its 15 storage tanks at the Fujairah liquid terminal—part of a complex with a total capacity of 465,000 cubic meters (about 3 million barrels)—was damaged.

Prior to that incident, storage terminal operators, including Vopak and VTTI, had already halted operations and restricted staff access. After several days of closure, the Fujairah oil terminals resumed operations on March 6.

On the same day, March 3, two vessels—the oil tanker Libra Trader and the bulk carrier Gold Oak—were also damaged 7 to 10 nautical miles off the coast of Fujairah.

Rising Energy Tensions in the Region

In a related development, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social late Friday that American forces had struck military targets on Khark Island, Iran’s most important oil export hub, which handles about 90 percent of the country’s crude exports.

Data from the international analytics firm Kpler indicates that oil loading from Kharg Island’s storage tanks increased 1.5 times over the past month, suggesting Iran may have accelerated exports in anticipation of a potential attack on the strategic facility.

Regional energy infrastructure seen as critical export hubs includes Ras Tanura and Ras al-Juayfah in Saudi Arabia, Fujairah and Jebel Ali in the UAE, Ras Laffan in Qatar, Mina Al-Ahmadi in Kuwait, and Sitra in Bahrain—facilities considered among the Persian Gulf’s seven key energy arteries.

Following the latest developments, Brent crude prices rose above $104 per barrel, with analysts warning that a widening of the conflict to regional oil infrastructure could push prices toward $200 per barrel.

Earlier, Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Headquarters warned that any attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure would be met with retaliatory strikes on regional oil facilities owned by U.S. companies or those cooperating with the United States.