Two Saudi Oil Tankers Reverse Course in Red Sea After Houthi Warning

Two tankers carrying Saudi crude reversed course in the Red Sea a day after Yemen’s Houthi militants warned they could attack ships using Saudi ports.

Reuters, citing ship-tracking data from London Stock Exchange Group on July 21, reported that the two tankers had been sailing south in the Red Sea toward China and India before turning around and heading north toward the Suez Canal.

One of the vessels, the very large crude carrier Xin Long Yang, had loaded 2 million barrels of crude at Saudi Arabia’s western port of Yanbu the previous day and was bound for China. But it turned back before leaving the Red Sea and headed toward the Suez Canal. The Aframax tanker Rhodes, carrying about 700,000 barrels of Saudi crude to India, also reversed course that day. The two ships were transporting a combined 2.7 million barrels of oil.

The VLCC New Prime, which had been due to arrive at Yanbu later this week to load crude, was also found to have turned back near Oman before entering the Red Sea.

The Houthis declared a “naval blockade” against Saudi Arabia the previous day. In an email to shipping companies, the group said ships loading or unloading cargo at Saudi ports were banned targets and could be attacked “anywhere” within its operational range if they violated the order.

Yanbu on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast is a key export route for Saudi crude that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. But Yemen’s northern coastline, controlled by the Houthis, faces the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the southern gateway to the Red Sea.

If ships carrying Saudi crude avoid the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and instead exit through the Suez Canal, they would have to cross the Mediterranean, pass through the Strait of Gibraltar and sail around the southern tip of Africa before heading to Asia. That would extend shipping times by several weeks.

Reuters reported that Aframax tankers can pass through the Suez Canal while loaded with crude, but larger VLCCs must offload their cargo and send it through the SUMED pipeline to the Mediterranean.

The route changes suggest the Houthi blockade threat has moved beyond rhetoric and begun to affect vessel movements and Saudi crude shipments.

Park Su-bin, Hankyung.com reporter, waterbean@hankyung.com