Oil loading operations at the United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah export hub have partially resumed following a drone strike and fire on Saturday that temporarily halted exports at one of the few remaining outlets for Gulf crude still functioning outside the blocked Strait of Hormuz.
Operations at Fujairah restarted on Sunday, according to people familiar with the situation who were not authorised to comment publicly. Calls to the port and to state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) went unanswered. The Fujairah media office confirmed that a drone was intercepted on Saturday and that falling debris sparked the fire at the terminal.
The resumption is partial. Most storage terminals and berths at the Fujairah Oil Tanker Terminal (FOTT) are now operating, with all berths at Oil Terminal 1 and a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) jetty functioning and several berths at Oil Terminal 2 accepting vessels. However, the Mena Fujairah Terminal remains offline after drone debris damaged naphtha storage tanks, and bunker suppliers are still awaiting clearance to resume barge operations at the Vopak Horizon terminal.
Saturday’s attack was the second drone incident at Fujairah in less than a week. The first occurred on March 9 when debris from a drone intercepted by UAE air defence systems fell inside the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, sparking a fire that damaged oil storage infrastructure and forced several terminals to temporarily suspend operations.
The Saturday strike came hours after US forces carried out strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island, the terminal that handles roughly 90 percent of Iran’s crude exports. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had explicitly warned that US-linked energy facilities and financial interests across the region would become legitimate targets in response. The IRGC followed through on parts of that threat, with strikes also reported against branches of Citibank in Dubai and Manama, which Iran said were retaliation for US strikes on two Iranian banks.
Fujairah is strategically significant because it sits on the Gulf of Oman outside the Strait of Hormuz, serving as the endpoint for a pipeline carrying Abu Dhabi’s Murban crude and handling approximately one million barrels per day, or roughly one percent of global oil demand. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed since the war began on February 28, Fujairah has become one of the last functioning export arteries for Middle Eastern crude, making it both commercially critical and a high-priority target.
“The IRGC is sending a message that there is no safe harbour in this rapidly expanding conflict,” said Helima Croft, analyst at RBC Capital. “The fact this comes hours after the US strike on Kharg Island also signals that Tehran will not let Washington control the terms of escalation and impose dominance.”
The temporary disruption earlier in the week tightened bunker fuel availability and pushed regional marine fuel prices higher, with traders reporting reduced offers and increased caution among suppliers. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has said the conflict has triggered the largest disruption to global oil flows in recorded market history.
ADNOC has informed international partners holding stakes in Murban crude production that they may proceed with loading some March cargoes from Fujairah, signalling a gradual normalisation, though the situation remains volatile as the broader conflict shows no sign of abating.
