Saudi Arabia Forced Back to Perilous Hormuz Route

Saudi Arabia's detours around the Strait of Hormuz are not working out as planned. After months of sending oil west via pipelines and the Red Sea, Riyadh is again shipping millions of barrels a day through the narrow waterway.

The move is considered 'risky' by the Wall Street Journal due to ongoing Iranian attacks on ships in the area. Earlier this month, Iranian drone strikes knocked out Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline, while Houthi attacks have made shipping in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb increasingly hazardous.

As a result, state giant Saudi Aramco is relying on a precarious workaround: loading crude at Ras Tanura in the Persian Gulf, transporting oil through Hormuz, and then transferring it to ships off Oman for customers in China, South Korea, and Japan. This scramble has driven up tanker rates and insurance costs.

Just last Monday, a tanker was struck by an unknown projectile in the strait, injuring two crew members, according to UK Maritime Trade Operations. Meanwhile, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Hormuz attacks could cease within a week if the US lifts its naval blockade.