The UAE are speeding up their construction of a second pipeline network connecting the Gulf States with Fujairah via a second pipeline to run alongside the existing Habshan-Fujairah system that is currently moving 1.8 million barrels of oil per day. The new pipeline is due to be completed in 2027. Saudi Arabia and UAE are currently the only Gulf States that have pipelines leading outside of the Persian Gulf thus bypassing the choke point of the Strait.. Extending the network will enable Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain to export oil without having to depend on the Strait of Hormuz.
The shipping companies are pushing hard for alternative methods of getting oil, oil products, LNG, LPG and other cargoes out and to lose the dependency on the Strait of Hormuz...and allowing Iran to disrupt trade routes as is the case currently. Eventually the Gulf States are looking to be able to drop most of their current need for transit through the Strait. This would mean that Iran will not profit from it since the majority of transits would be their own ships. Port infrastructure, road and rail improvements along with the pipeline network have been planned for several years but with the hostilities, those plans have been accelerated.
More on the new pipeline :
UAE’s new West-East pipeline to double ADNOC’s export capacity through Fujairah (Gulf News - May 15, 2026)
Also...in the same vein as their ekranoplan fleet, the Iranians have deployed several locally built Ghadir class midget submarines within the Strait of Hormuz. They can sit and wait on the seabed for a few days and can attack a ship without any warning. Powered by diesel-electric engines, they have a crew of 7 and are said to be quite effective at torpedoing ships that are using the Strait due to their shallow water design and relatively small size....approx 125 tons submerged displacement.
More on the Ghadir :
Iran Deploys ‘Trigger-Ready’ Ghadir Submarines to Strait of Hormuz as Tehran Signals Underwater Threat to Global Oil Routes (Defence Security Asia - May 10, 2026)