Saudi Oil Tankers Navigate Treacherous Waters Amid Middle East Tensions

Saudi oil tankers are navigating treacherous waters as tensions escalate in the Middle East. According to shipping data, two tankers laden with Saudi oil crossed the Bab el-Mandeb strait over the weekend.

The number of commodity vessels passing through the strait fell to 18 on Sunday, down from 27 on Saturday and 28 on Friday, Kpler data showed.

The Iran-aligned Houthis declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on July 20, expanding attacks on tankers carrying global energy supplies beyond the Gulf.

One Suezmax tanker, Lesvos, was spotted exiting the Red Sea with its Automatic Identification System transponder switched off. The vessel is believed to be carrying around 1 million barrels of Saudi crude.

The Very Large Crude Carrier Desh Vaibhav, also exiting the Red Sea, has a cargo capacity of 2 million barrels and is heading towards India's Sikka port, where Reliance Industries typically receives crude.