The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) biggest port and oil storage facility, Fujairah, and Dubai’s international airport have come under further drone attacks as Iran continues to target Gulf transport and oil infrastructure.
Flights were temporarily suspended on Monday after a fire broke out near the airport after a “drone-related incident”.
A fire also raged after a drone attack on the strategically important port and industrial zone at Fujairah, one of the largest oil storage facilities in the region.
And a rocket attack on a car killed a Palestinian national on the outskirts of the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, the city’s Media Office reported.
The attack occurred in the Al Bahia area, it said.
UAE air defence systems intercepted six ballistic missiles and 21 drones on Monday, the Defence Ministry said. Iran has launched over 1,900 missiles and drones at the UAE since the war between the US and Israel, and Iran, began.
Monday’s drone strike was the third incident since the start of the war near Dubai’s airport, which is the world’s busiest for international passengers.
Some flights were delayed, while others were cancelled altogether, in another hit to the UAE’s image of safety and stability.
The country’s energy sector came under attack as a drone hit an oil storage tanker on Saturday, and another drone hit the oil facilities on Monday, causing a fire.
Oil loading activities at the port were halted for a time while damage assessments were carried out.
Fujairah sits on the UAE’s eastern coast, on the Gulf of Oman – rather than the Persian Gulf – and so vessels do not need to navigate the Strait of Hormuz to reach it.
The location means the port plays a “crucial” role in “helping keep global supplies moving” when the Strait of Hormuz is blocked by Iran, Dubai-based Justin Harper, editor of CEO Middle East – who regularly speaks to Dubai’s oil industry executives – told the BBC.
“If tensions with Iran disrupt the chokepoint, the UAE can still export oil through Fujairah via pipelines from the oilfields in Abu Dhabi,” he said.
The port city is “ideally placed to bypass the Strait of Hormuz”, said Dubai-based oil analyst Matt Stanley, who works for commodities data provider Kpler.
“The UAE’s state oil company Adnoc have their oil tankers there, it is crude grade oil which is what the Asian buyers want.”
Iran hitting a storage tanker and a pipeline at Fujairah “shows the vulnerability of Gulf infrastructure”, Stanley told the BBC.
“Iran wants to disrupt the flow of energy”.
The port city is close to India and the “first stop out of the Middle East on the way to Singapore and China”, Stanley said.
“Fujairah is on the old Silk Road, the maritime route, and it picked up a lot of business bunkering – that is providing fuel, food, water – for container ships that have been at sea for 25 or 30 days.”
Fujairah is like a “huge vending machine” for ships, Stanley added.
Despite the attacks on Dubai, Harper says the business community there is “resilient”. Restaurants have been offering deals to get people back into restaurants and “the malls still seem to be busy”. People “underestimate Dubai and its ability to survive a downturn”, he added. (BBC News)
