Just hours before the missile alert that shook Dubai, a separate Iranian drone strike hit the Port of Fujairah on 14 March, sparking fires that forced the temporary suspension of some oil-loading and container-handling operations. The attack is the first direct hit on the strategic East-coast port during the current Iran–Gulf escalation and comes at a time when Indian exporters had increasingly shifted cargo there to avoid congestion on Dubai’s western seaboard. While UAE emergency services contained the blaze within three hours, terminal operators told freight forwarders to expect berth re-sequencing and possible rollover of less-time-sensitive containers. Indian shipping lines calling at Fujairah—particularly those carrying auto components from Chennai and Bengaluru for onward distribution to Africa—now face schedule slippage of 24-48 hours. Several third-party logistics (3PL) firms with high-value electronics shipments have diverted vessels to Sohar, Oman, incurring extra trucking costs back to UAE distribution centres. For Indian corporates that rely on Fujairah as a free-zone consolidation point, the bigger worry is insurance: war-risk surcharges on cargo policies were hiked by 35 % overnight, and underwriters are signalling further increases if attacks persist. Mobility programmes relocating staff or project cargo for energy EPC contracts in the UAE’s East Coast region should revisit risk-mitigation budgets and verify whether force-majeure clauses cover drone-strike disruption. Industry analysts note that while the port remains operational, repeated interruptions could accelerate India-Inc.’s gradual diversification of Gulf logistics toward Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Islamic Port and Oman’s Duqm SEZ—both positioning themselves as alternative gateways for South Asian trade. However, those routes entail longer over-land hauls back into the UAE, raising cost and customs-compliance complexity for time-critical shipments.
