Gulf states scramble for Strait of Hormuz alternatives

Deutsche Welle · 🇩🇪 public Germany · Aug 12, 2026 · 1151 words · By Amir Soltanzadeh

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What to know about Gulf states scramble for Strait of Hormuz alternatives

Gulf states scramble for Strait of Hormuz alternatives August 12, 2026 Months of blockades and uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz have pushed energy exporters to look for ways to bypass the key shipping lane.

Claims checked 14

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center100%

Right0%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

Iranian officials had insisted the waterway would remain closed and negotiations would not resume unless the United States complied with a June framework agreement and offered compensation to Tehran for alleged violations.

Common ground

US President Donald Trump, however, said on Monday that the US Navy already controls the Strait of Hormuz.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Gulf states scramble for Strait of Hormuz alternatives?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that During the fighting, the Emirati port of Fujairah came under attack and vessels operating near the UAE's eastern coast were also struck?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dw.com/en/iran-war-strait-of-hormuz-gulf-states-oil-shipping-pipelin…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 14 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 7

schedule Pending 4

check_circle Corroborated 2

verified Verified By Reference 1

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Claim 1: “During the fighting, the Emirati port of Fujairah came under attack and vessels operating near the UAE's eastern coast were also struck.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim that the port of Fujairah and vessels near the UAE's eastern coast were attacked is only reported by Deutsche Welle in the provided evidence.

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cross reference SUPPORTS — During the fighting, the Emirati port of Fujairah came under attack and vessels operating near the UAE's eastern coast were also struck.
https://www.dw.com/en/iran-war-strait-of-hormuz-gulf-states-…

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Claim 2: “UAE Persian Gulf coast traffic during April and May fell to 12 million tons from 68.5 million tons in the same period of 2025, according to IMF PortWatch vessel-tracking data.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific IMF PortWatch data regarding the drop from 68.5 million to 12 million tons for UAE Persian Gulf traffic is only reported by Deutsche Welle.

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cross reference SUPPORTS — UAE Persian Gulf coast traffic during April and May fell to 12 million tons from 68.5 million tons in the same period of 2025, according to IMF PortWatch vessel-tracking data.
https://www.dw.com/en/iran-war-strait-of-hormuz-gulf-states-…

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Claim 3: “Before the Iran war, it [the Strait of Hormuz] carried around 20% of global crude exports from the Persian Gulf to markets in Europe, Asia and North America.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results explicitly state that prior to the war, 20% of the world's oil and gas passed through the Strait of Hormuz. This is corroborated by multiple search results and aligns with the context of the 2026 crisis described in Wikipedia.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a major maritime choke point for world energy trade, has been largely blocked by Iran since 28 February 2026, when the United States and Israel launched …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Strait_of_Hormuz_crisis

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 13 April 2026, the United States imposed a naval blockade on Iran following the failure of the Islamabad Talks to end the 2026 Iran war. The blockade began 10:00 EDT and applied only to ships going…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_naval_block…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Strait of Hormuz () is a waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. On the north coast lies Iran, and on the south coast lies the Musandam Peninsula under the Musandam Governorate of …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strait_of_Hormuz

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 4: “ADCOP carries crude from Habshan in Abu Dhabi to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, outside Hormuz.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific detail about ADCOP carrying crude from Habshan to Fujairah is only provided in the Deutsche Welle cross-references provided in the evidence set.

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cross reference SUPPORTS — ADCOP carries crude from Habshan in Abu Dhabi to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, outside Hormuz.
https://www.dw.com/en/iran-war-strait-of-hormuz-gulf-states-…

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cross reference SUPPORTS — ADCOP carries crude from Habshan in Abu Dhabi to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, outside Hormuz.
https://www.dw.com/en/iran-war-strait-of-hormuz-gulf-states-…

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Claim 5: “Over the same period, exports through the Red Sea rose from 29.6 million to 54.8 million tons.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific increase in Red Sea exports from 29.6 million to 54.8 million tons is only reported by Deutsche Welle. Other sources discuss the Red Sea crisis generally but not these specific tonnage figures.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Red Sea International Airport (IATA: RSI, ICAO: OERS) is an international airport in Hanak, Tabuk Province in northwestern Saudi Arabia serving the tourism megaproject in development The Red Sea Desti…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Sea_International_Airport

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Red Sea Global (RSG; Arabic: البحر الأحمر الدولية), previously The Red Sea Development Company, is a real estate development company based in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The company was founded in July 2017 …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Sea_Global

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Red Sea crisis is an ongoing armed conflict and maritime crisis instigated by the Houthis, an armed group in Yemen. The Houthis began launching missiles and armed drones at Israel in response to t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Sea_crisis

+ 2 more evidence sources

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Claim 6: “Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain... do not have coastlines outside the Persian Gulf.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 7: “During April and May, Saudi cargo shipments from its Gulf coast fell from 47.5 million tons a year earlier to just 6.3 million tons, according to data from the International Monetary Fund's Portwatch platform.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific statistics regarding the drop from 47.5 million to 6.3 million tons are only reported by Deutsche Welle. While Wikipedia confirms the general crisis, it does not provide these specific figures.

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cross reference SUPPORTS — During April and May, Saudi cargo shipments from its Gulf coast fell from 47.5 million tons a year earlier to just 6.3 million tons, according to data from the International Monetary Fund's Portwatch …
https://www.dw.com/en/iran-war-strait-of-hormuz-gulf-states-…

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Claim 8: “Ships moving toward the Suez Canal must pass Bab al-Mandab”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 9: “Mansour estimates that a Basra-Aqaba pipeline could require five to seven years and cost around $8 billion to $10 billion (€6.9 billion to €8.7 billion).”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific cost and timeline estimates provided by Mansour for the Basra-Aqaba pipeline are only reported by Deutsche Welle.

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cross reference SUPPORTS — Mansour estimates that a Basra-Aqaba pipeline could require five to seven years and cost around $8 billion to $10 billion (€6.9 billion to €8.7 billion).
https://www.dw.com/en/iran-war-strait-of-hormuz-gulf-states-…

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Claim 10: “Saudi Arabia is sending its crude through the East-West Pipeline from the kingdom's eastern oil fields to the Saudi Red Sea port of Yanbu”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The existence and function of the East-West Pipeline (Petroline) transporting crude from eastern fields to Yanbu on the Red Sea is confirmed by Wikipedia and multiple web sources.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The East–West Pipeline, also known as the Petroline, is a 1,201-kilometre-long (746 mi) pipeline in Saudi Arabia that runs from the Abqaiq oil field in the Eastern Province (near Bahrain and Qatar on …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East–West_Crude_Oil_Pipeline

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Saudi Arabia has a high-income developing economy highly reliant on its petroleum sector. Oil and gas account for approximately 22.3% of Saudi GDP and 55% of government revenue, with substantial fluct…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Saudi_Arabia

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Yanbu Commercial Port is among the ancient ports on the Red Sea. Its strategic importance comes from the fact that the port is a main gateway to the Muslim holy city of Medinah, as well as being a min…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanbu_Commercial_Port

+ 4 more evidence sources

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Claim 11: “A Basra-Oman connection could cost $10 billion to $15 billion”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 12: “Traffic through alternative UAE ports also declined, from 13.7 million tons to 6.3 million.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The decline in alternative UAE port traffic from 13.7 million to 6.3 million tons is only reported by Deutsche Welle.

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cross reference SUPPORTS — Traffic through alternative UAE ports also declined, from 13.7 million tons to 6.3 million.
https://www.dw.com/en/iran-war-strait-of-hormuz-gulf-states-…

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cross reference SUPPORTS — Traffic through alternative UAE ports also declined, from 13.7 million tons to 6.3 million.
https://www.dw.com/en/iran-war-strait-of-hormuz-gulf-states-…

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Claim 13: “The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen recently declared a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia”

CORROBORATED

The declaration of a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia by Houthi rebels is reported independently by Deutsche Welle, EuroNews, and France24.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Houthi–Saudi Arabian conflict is an ongoing armed conflict between the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi forces in the Arabian Peninsula, including the southern Saudi prov…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houthi–Saudi_Arabian_conflict

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa, staged a military intervention in Yemen at the request of Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi-led_intervention_in_the_…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Since January 2010 during the Houthi insurgency, the Houthis, a Zaydi Shia revivalist political and military organization, have maintained de facto governance over significant portions of northern and…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houthi-controlled_Yemen

+ 4 more evidence sources

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Claim 14: “Before the conflict, however, roughly 20 million barrels of oil and petroleum products passed through the Strait of Hormuz each day.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.