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Two tankers laden with Saudi oil crossed the Bab el-Mandeb strait over the weekend while traffic in the Strait of Hormuz slowed following reports of vessel attacks, according to shipping data that Reuters reported on Monday. The Suezmax tanker Lesvos was carrying about 1 million barrels of Saudi crude and the VLCC Desh Vaibhav held around 2 million barrels as both vessels exited the Red Sea with their Automatic Identification Systems switched off. The Desh Vaibhav was heading to India’s Sikka port for delivery to Reliance Industries while the Malta-flagged Lesvos had no immediately clear destination.
Kpler data cited in the Reuters dispatch showed the number of commodity vessels passing through the Bab el-Mandeb strait fell to 18 on Sunday from 27 on Saturday and 28 on Friday. This decline follows the Iran-aligned Houthis’ declaration of a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on July 20 which the group framed as opening a new front against the United States and its allies while expanding attacks on tankers carrying global energy supplies. The July 20 announcement came in retaliation for perceived blockades and attacks including one on Sanaa International Airport according to contemporaneous Reuters reporting.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz which carries a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas also slowed with 10 commodity vessels recorded on Saturday after 19 the day before, the Kpler figures in the Monday Reuters article indicated. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency reported three additional tanker attacks since Saturday and Greek shipping firm Gaslog reported an incident on its LNG tanker Gaslog Shanghai on July 31. Some vessels may have switched off their AIS signals and could not be immediately accounted for in the data.
Four VLCCs exited the Hormuz strait on Friday including the Kiku carrying about 1.4 million barrels of Qatari crude and the Rotterdam Energy loaded with 2 million barrels of Das crude from the United Arab Emirates in addition to the Spain B and Noble. ADNOC Logistics and Services the owner of the Rotterdam Energy declined to comment on the movements while Apex Shipping the manager of the Kiku did not respond to requests for comment. A Panama-flagged tanker carrying Russian naphtha separately changed course to sail around Africa instead of transiting the Red Sea according to the Reuters report.
Dynacom the manager for the Lesvos and the Shipping Corp of India which is linked to the Desh Vaibhav did not respond to requests for comment that Reuters detailed in its Monday dispatch. The Houthi embargo declared on July 20 was described by the Saudi-led coalition as a violation of international law and maritime piracy that threatened to disrupt global energy supplies beyond the Gulf. Yemen’s Houthis in their statement called the measure an equation of an eye for an eye in response to actions against their territory.
Red Sea transits have remained suppressed since Houthi attacks began targeting vessels in late 2023 prompting widespread rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope that has raised shipping costs and extended voyage times for energy cargoes. The latest moves targeting Saudi-linked shipments add to the pressure on key export routes from Gulf producers. Vessel operators have increasingly adopted stealth measures such as disabling AIS in high-risk waters to reduce exposure to potential strikes.
