Saudi oil port sees busiest day since Houthi blockade: Report

Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu oil port appeared to record its busiest day since Houthi threats disrupted regional shipping, with five very large crude carriers seen at its loading terminals, Bloomberg reported Monday.

Satellite images taken Saturday showed five supertankers berthed at Yanbu’s crude-loading facilities, potentially marking the port’s most active day since the Iran-backed Houthi group imposed a blockade on Saudi ports two weeks ago, according to the report.

Yanbu has become increasingly important to Saudi Arabia’s oil exports after the conflict with Iran disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The kingdom has been bypassing the chokepoint by transporting crude through pipelines to Yanbu on the Red Sea coast for shipment to international buyers.

A very large crude carrier can transport about 2 million barrels of oil.

The Greek-owned tanker Lesvos and the India-flagged Desh Vaibhav crossed the Bab el-Mandeb over the weekend carrying Saudi crude loaded at Yanbu while their transponders were switched off, Bloomberg said, citing ship-tracking firms Vortexa and Kpler.

The vessels later reappeared in waters off Oman after previously transmitting positions near Yanbu.

While some tankers, including vessels carrying Russian crude, continue to cross the Bab el-Mandeb with their tracking systems operating, Houthi threats have forced some Saudi vessels to take the longer route around Africa.

Saudi Arabia has also diverted some oil destined for Asia from the Red Sea to Egypt’s Sidi Kerir terminal on the Mediterranean coast.

Between Friday and Sunday, 34 commodity vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz in either direction, while 75 vessels transited the Bab el-Mandeb, according to Kpler data cited by Bloomberg.

More than 8.4 million barrels of crude left the Persian Gulf on Friday, one of the highest daily totals since the conflict with Iran began in late February, with most shipments carried by vessels operating without active transponders.