Saudi Oil Tankers Exit Red Sea Under 'Darkness' Amid Houthi Blockade

Two tankers carrying Saudi oil for India have exited the Red Sea by 'going dark', switching off their transponders to avoid detection. This move comes after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis announced a blockade on Saudi shipments.

The Suezmax tanker Amazon, chartered by Indian Oil Corp, loaded 1 million barrels of oil and Aframax Rodos lifted 700,000 barrels of crude for Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd at Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port around July 20. However, on July 22, the two tankers briefly turned north towards the Suez Canal before switching off their Automatic Identification System transponders.

The vessels then headed south to exit the Red Sea through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. This is the first time Saudi crude for India has been transported while 'dark', and it's a common practice in war zone areas, according to sources.

The Rodos is expected to arrive at India's Mangalore port on August 1, while the Amazon is scheduled to reach Chennai in early August. Both vessels are managed by Greece-based Dynacom Tankers, which had no immediate comment when contacted by Reuters.