Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Push Gains Weight as Hormuz Risks Rise

Saudi Arabia is expanding Red Sea routes to reduce exposure to Strait of Hormuz disruptions. NEOM Port has enabled a Europe-Egypt-NEOM-GCC multimodal corridor. The East-West Pipeline gives Saudi Arabia a major oil export route to the Red Sea. Hormuz remains critical, with nearly 20 million barrels per day of oil exported through it in 2025. The strategy reduces risk, but it does not fully eliminate dependence on Hormuz. Saudi Arabia Looks West as Hormuz Risks Grow Saudi Arabia’s push toward the Red Sea is becoming more strategic as tensions around the Strait of Hormuz revive concerns over energy security and trade disruption. The shift did not start with the latest crisis. Riyadh has spent decades building alternatives to the Gulf route, including the East-West Pipeline to Yanbu and major port investments on the Red Sea. The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most important oil chokepoints. The International Energy Agency said nearly 20 million barrels per day of oil were exported through the Strait in 2025. It also estimated that Saudi Arabia and the UAE have only 3.5 million to 5.5 million barrels per day of available alternative export capacity through existing routes. NEOM Port Adds a Trade Route, Not a Full Hormuz Replacement NEOM Port , formerly Duba Port, now plays a growing role in Saudi Arabia’s logistics strategy. NEOM says the port is already handling general cargo, project cargo, containers, bulk shipments, warehousing and RoRo ferry operations. Its new T1 container terminal is expected to launch in 2026 with 1.5 million TEU capacity. On April 14, NEOM announced that Port of NEOM, with Pan Marine and support from DFDS and regional logistics partners, had enabled a multimodal corridor linking Europe, Egypt, NEOM and the GCC. The route combines ferry-based freight and trucking services. The corridor strengthens Saudi Arabia’s position as a logistics hub, but it mainly serves cargo and trade connectivity. It does not replace Hormuz for all oil flow