Saudi Oil Tankers Navigate Strait Amid Vessel Attacks

Two Saudi oil tankers navigated the Bab el-Mandeb strait over the weekend, while traffic at the Strait of Hormuz slowed following reports of vessel attacks. Shipping data showed that on Sunday, only 18 commodity vessels passed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait, down from 27 on Saturday and 28 on Friday.

The Iran-aligned Houthis declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on July 20, expanding their attacks on tankers carrying global energy supplies to waters beyond the Gulf. Two Suezmax tankers, Lesvos and Desh Vaibhav, exited the Red Sea with their AIS switched off, according to Kpler data.

The Malta-flagged Lesvos was carrying about 1 million barrels of Saudi crude, while the Desh Vaibhav, which is heading to India's Sikka port, was carrying 2 million barrels. Dynacom, the manager for the Lesvos, did not respond to requests for comments outside of office hours.

The number of commodity vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz fell to 10 on Saturday after Friday's tally of 19, the highest since mid-July. Some vessels may have switched off their AIS and cannot be immediately accounted for.