The repositioning of an underwater fibre-optic cable is set to see the critical Port of Fujairah Offshore Anchorage Area become even busier.

An additional 24 anchoring positions will come on stream once the cable is moved, taking the total to 133.

Lying outside the Straits of Hormuz, Fujairah is a key service point for many vessels trading in and out of the Arabian Gulf, providing a convenient location for bunkering, afloat repairs, underwater hull cleaning and propeller polishing, crew changes and victualling.

More than 400 companies provide vessel support of one type and another from the port and its surroundings, and last year an average of close to 40 ships called there every day. The offshore anchorage clocked up 13,734 vessel calls in 2015 – 61% of which were tankers.

Port of Fujairah is home to one of the world’s largest oil storage centres where volumes have spiralled and are set to increase sharply before the end of the decade. Unlike some other key oil storage hubs, there is plenty of space adjacent to the port - mountains have been moved, quite literally, for more storage tanks.

There are more than 330 tanks sited adjacent to the port which is one of the world’s three largest bunkering hubs. By 2020, oil storage is expected to have exceeded 15m tonnes from today’s 9m cubic metres.

Fujairah is also the oil export terminal for Abu Dhabi crude from the Habshan oil field which is pumped across the desert through the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP). The oil is stored in Fujairah and exported by tankers loaded offshore at single buoy moorings.

The port has not been immune to the low oil price, however, with construction of both a nearby oil refinery and LNG terminal delayed.

Source: seatrade-maritime.com