Houthi Attacks Spark Surge in 'Dark' Oil Shipments from Red Sea

The Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil exports have led to an increase in 'dark' voyages, where tankers switch off tracking signals to avoid detection. This has made it harder for analysts to assess the impact of these threats on crude flows.

Saudi crude exports from the Red Sea are vanishing from view as tankers operate without publicly visible tracking data. The Houthis declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on July 20, and since then, they have claimed attacks on Saudi-linked tankers, oil facilities, and even a refinery on the Red Sea coast.

The growing use of dark voyages is clouding visibility into Saudi oil exports, making it harder to estimate export levels. Ship-tracking firms are producing widely differing estimates - for example, Vortexa estimated Yanbu loadings fell to 2.38 million barrels per day from 2.71 million the previous week, while Kpler estimated a sharper drop to 1.78 million bpd from 4.04 million.

Saudi Aramco did not respond to a request for comment. Analysts are trying to monitor shipments by relying on vessel re-appearance on tracking systems once it has left the high-risk area, using satellite data to cross-check movements and try to fill in the gaps.