Saudi Oil Tankers Take Dark Route Through Bab el-Mandeb Amid Ongoing Houthi Threat
The Houthi threat to Saudi oil shipments through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has not subsided, and more tankers carrying Saudi crude have taken a clandestine route through the strait. According to vessel-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg, two tankers that loaded oil at the Red Sea port of Yanbu likely exited the strait in southern direction with their transponders off. The Greece-owned Lesvos tanker and the Indian-flagged Desh Vaibhav were last transmitting near Yanbu on Saturday before reappearing offshore southern Oman on Monday. At least five tankers berthed at Yanbu on Saturday, which may have been the busiest day at the port since the Houthis threatened to disrupt Saudi oil exports two weeks ago.
Saudi Arabia has rerouted part of its exports northward to Egypt and the Suez Canal while other vessels increasingly go dark while transiting Bab el-Mandeb. Last week, six tankers turned away from the strait after Houthi threats and actual attacks prompted Saudi Arabia to re-route its crude oil exports again to Egypt.
More than half a dozen empty supertankers were en route to Egypt's Sidi Kerir port last week to pick up Saudi crude as the world's top crude oil exporter adjusts its export tactics to avoid the new threat at Bab el-Mandeb.