Two tankers carrying Saudi crude make U-turns in Red Sea after Houthi warning
Two oil tankers which loaded Saudi crude for China and India this week made U-turns in the Red Sea on Tuesday and were headed toward the Suez Canal, shipping data on LSEG showed, following a warning from Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militia.
The Houthis on Monday declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia, opening a potential new front in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and raising the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf.
The group, in an email sent to shipping companies, warned them not to load or discharge cargo at Saudi Arabian ports and said such activity may result in being targeted "in any location".
The Houthis control northern Yemen, including the coast of the Bab el-Mandeb, the strait at the mouth of the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port on the Red Sea has been the main bypass route for millions of barrels per day of Middle East oil to avoid the blockaded Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf.
Very Large Crude Carrier Xin Long Yang, which completed the loading of 2 million barrels of Saudi crude at Yanbu on Monday, was originally heading to exit the Red Sea to go to China, but it made a U-turn and was heading to Suez instead, the data showed.
Aframax tanker Rodos, which loaded about 700,000 barrels of Saudi crude for India, also made a U-turn for Suez on Tuesday, according to the data.
Dynacom Tankers Management, which manages Rodos, and Cosco Shipping, manager of Xin Long Yang, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Another VLCC, New Prime, which was scheduled to arrive at Yanbu later this week to load crude, has also turned back off Oman. Its manager Associated Maritime Co HK did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Forcing tankers to use the Suez Canal rather than exit the Red Sea through the Bab el-Mandeb would add weeks to shipments to Asia, which would need to sail through the Mediterranean and around Africa.
Aframax tankers can transit the Suez Canal fully laden. Larger VLCCs can also transit the canal, though they must unload some of their oil first, which can bypass the canal by being pumped through the SUMED pipeline to the Mediterranean.
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