Oman evacuates key oil port as Iran war intensifies
Oman has ordered the evacuation of vessels from its key Mina Al Fahal oil port, which sits outside the Strait of Hormuz, in a sign that the disruption to oil supply is spreading in the Middle Eastern ports that don’t need passage through the world’s most critical chokepoint.
All vessels were told to evacuate Mina Al Fahal, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, as attacks on regional energy infrastructure intensify and tankers and cargo vessels are now being targeted more frequently.
On Wednesday, Iranian drones struck oil storage facilities at the Port of Salalah in Oman, as the regional war expands into a full-scale confrontation over global oil supply.
Salalah, located on Oman’s southern coast along the Arabian Sea, has become an increasingly important hub for tankers seeking to bypass the increasingly dangerous Strait of Hormuz. The strike raised fresh concerns that Iran is expanding the conflict beyond the Gulf chokepoint and into alternative export routes used by oil producers and shipping companies. [Continue reading…]