Saudi Terminal Sees Busiest Loading Day Since War Amid Pipeline Disruption

Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura terminal experienced its busiest loading day since before the war on September 21, as six Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) lifted close to 12 million barrels at Ras Tanura and Juaymah.

The surge in activity followed a disruption to the kingdom's East-West pipeline, which normally allows Saudi crude to bypass the Strait of Hormuz by moving oil overland to the Red Sea coast.

Kpler's analysts say that some of the six vessels involved in the loading surge had already been flagged for unusual port calls and dark ship-to-ship transfers in the previous six weeks, suggesting a 'longer-running pattern of changing vessel behaviour'.