Red Sea Risks Force Oil Tankers to Take Longer Route Around Africa

Oil tankers carrying Saudi and Russian crude are taking a longer route around Africa due to security concerns in the Red Sea. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, is a critical chokepoint for global energy supplies.

Six Saudi-owned Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) recently sailed away from the strait instead of transiting the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. The ships, operated by Saudi Arabia's national shipping company, Bahri, are taking the safer journey around the Cape of Good Hope.

The diversion adds at least two weeks to voyages destined for Asia, according to Bloomberg. Saudi Arabia is also rerouting some Asia-bound crude exports from its Red Sea terminal at Yanbu to Egypt's Mediterranean port of Sidi Kerir.