News
09/03/26
Drone attacks test Oman's bid as Hormuz bypass
Dubai, 9 March (Argus) — Oman's ports have been seen as a safer alternative for
cargoes seeking to avoid the strait of Hormuz, but recent drone attacks are
raising questions over whether the sultanate can remain insulated from the
ongoing US-Iran war. Oman's deep-water ports — Duqm, Salalah and Sohar — sit on
the Arabian Sea outside the strait, allowing tankers to bypass the narrow
waterway and reduce exposure to potential security risks. Tanker traffic through
the strait has slowed to a treacle after several tankers were attacked since the
conflict began on 28 February and as insurers raised premiums or withdrew war
risk coverage for the region. Oman's geographical location has long been viewed
as a key advantage to avoid the Hormuz critical chokepoint, encouraging
companies to reroute cargoes through the region, with some buyers preferring to
lift shipments directly from the sultanate's ports. Ship-tracking data from
Kpler showed that the vessel Valery Roma , carrying around 37,000t of 95R
gasoline from Paradip, which was originally headed to Jebel Ali, is now being
diverted to Oman's Duqm, confirmed by port agent data. The tanker Advantage
Passion which was chartered to load 60,000t of jet fuel from Jubail for
northwestern Europe on 3 March, is currently anchored near Oman's Sohar. Sohar
is the busiest in terms of overall cargo volumes and handles a mix of dry bulk
and liquid cargoes, while Salalah, located at the southeastern tip of the
country, serves as a major container transshipment hub, Rystad Energy commodity
markets vice president Valerie Panopio said. Last year, Salalah expanded its
container terminal capacity from 4.5mn TEU to 6.5mn TEU following upgrades at
all six berths and a yard expansion. But recent drone strikes on Oman's
commercial ports have undermined hopes that the country can avoid a regional
hostilities spillover, raising concerns among shipowners, insurers and traders
about whether the country's ports can still function as transshipment hubs.
Several drones struck the ports of Duqm and Salalah last week, with at least one
fuel storage tank hit at Duqm and debris falling near terminal areas . And
changes to war-risk coverage on regional maritime routes have complicated the
picture, with Sohar now falling within an insurer-designated war-risk area,
potentially increasing charter and insurance costs for vessels calling at the
port. The Joint War Committee, which represents the London insurance market,
recently expanded its list of high-risk maritime areas to include waters around
Oman along with Bahrain, Djibouti, Kuwait and Qatar, according to a market
circular. But one broker said that tanker booking enquiries from Sohar and other
Omani ports were still increasing noticeably even though the area is classified
as high risk. Rising security risks are now beginning to feed into shipping
insurance costs. Additional war-risk premiums (AWRP) for tankers transiting
Omani waters have climbed to around 0.4pc of vessel value, up from about 0.1pc
previously, according to an insurance broker. Shipping sources said rates have
risen even further — to around 1pc — for vessels transiting the wider Mideast
Gulf region. By Rithika Krishna Send comments and request more information at
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