Oman is investing a lot of money for a port that will be useful for trade and American logistics efforts in the region:
A noteworthy geopolitical shift is emerging that the media have yet to report on. In future years, a sizable portion of the U.S. Navy's forces in the Middle East could be spending less time in the Persian Gulf and more time in the adjacent Indian Ocean. Manama in Bahrain will continue to be the headquarters of the Fifth Fleet. But American warships and their crews, as well as the myriad supply and repair services for them, could be increasingly focused on the brand new Omani port of Duqm, located outside the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Sea, which, in turn, forms the western half of the Indian Ocean.
I've never been happy with Bahrain as a base for anything but smaller naval vessels. I especially get nervous when we send a carrier in there since the mining and blocking of the Strait of Hormuz could turn a carrier into a ship-in-a-bottle. So a major port at Duqm (and a major airport, too) close to Iran but not nearly as vulnerable to direct attack or reliant on Hormuz for exit is welcome.
While the article points more to China and Asia as the motive for the port, you can also trace the development to Arab interest in bypassing the vulnerable Strait of Hormuz to the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) when the "Tanker War" between Iraq and Iran highlighted the reliance of both combatants on free trade through the strait.
Geography is tough to overcome. And 25 years after that war, efforts are still being made to adapt to a hostile Iran looming over their economic artery through the Strait of Hormuz.
