Dark Tanker Transits Surge at Bab el-Mandeb as Houthi Threat Persists
The Houthi threat to shipments of Saudi crude oil from the Red Sea hasn’t abated and more tankers laden with Saudi oil appeared to have made the transit through the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint in dark mode. Two tankers that had loaded Saudi crude at the Red Sea port of Yanbu have likely exited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in southern direction with their transponders off, Bloomberg reported on Monday,…
The threat of Houthi attacks on Saudi oil shipments through the Red Sea has not subsided, leading to more tankers making the dark transit through the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint, according to Bloomberg. Two tankers, the Lesvos-owned Lesvos and the Desh Vaibhav supertanker, both carrying Saudi crude from the Red Sea port of Yanbu, have recently disappeared from monitoring systems, with their transponders turned off.
These tankers were last reported near Yanbu on Saturday before reappearing offshore southern Oman on Monday. The port of Yanbu reportedly had at least five tankers berthed on Saturday, marking one of the busiest days since the Houthi threats emerged two weeks ago. In response to the Houthi warnings, Saudi Arabia has rerouted part of its oil exports to Egypt via the Suez Canal, while other vessels have increasingly gone dark while navigating the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Last week, six tankers were turned away in the Arabian Sea from Bab el-Mandeb due to the Houthi threats, and Saudi Arabia redirected its crude oil exports to Egypt, heading towards refueling hubs such as Gibraltar, Durban, and Algoa Bay. Additionally, over half a dozen empty supertankers were en route to Egypt's Sidi Kerir port to pick up Saudi crude, as the major crude exporter adjusts its export strategy to circumvent the latest threats at Bab el-Mandeb.
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