Three product tankers loaded at Saudi Arabian Red Sea ports and bound for Asia-Pacific and east Africa have turned north towards the Suez Canal, as Houthi-related threats to shipping prompt charterers to reassess passage through the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
The tankers appear to have abandoned planned transits through Bab el-Mandeb, at the mouth of the Red Sea, after the Yemen-based, Iran-backed Houthis militant group announced a 'maritime ban' on Saudi Arabia on 20 July.
The Seferis loaded around 46,000t of gasoline from the 400,000 b/d Samref refinery at Yanbu on 21 July and while it is signaling Mombasa, Kenya, as its discharge destination with estimated arrival on 3 August, ship-tracking data from Kpler show the tanker is now heading north towards Suez.
Fixture lists showed state-controlled Aramco Trading (ATC) had chartered the Seferis on 15 July to ship 90,000t of gasoline from Yanbu for delivery to east Africa.
Two Saudi Red Sea naphtha cargoes initially lined up for Japan have since shifted west. The Hafnia Experience was chartered by Aramco Trading Singapore on 21 July to carry around 55,000t of naphtha from the Red Sea, with arrival initially expected on 20 August. It loaded at the 400,000 b/d PetroRabigh refinery on 25 July but ship-tracking data from Vortexa now show New York as its discharge destination.
The Torm Innovation loaded about 58,000t of naphtha at Yanbu on 23 July with Japan initially indicated as its destination, but it has since transited the Suez Canal and is now on route to Spain.
The tankers were fixed before the latest Houthi escalation and would ordinarily head south from Saudi Arabia's Red Sea ports through the Bab el-Mandeb strait to Asian or east African markets. Retaining their original destinations would require routing through Suez and around the Cape of Good Hope, potentially adding around a month to the voyage along with higher freight costs, according to market participants.
Saudi naphtha flows through Bab el-Mandeb had picked up sharply earlier this year, an hit around 433,000t in May with most heading to Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea. Volumes were around 370,000t in June but just 76,000t so far in July.
A similar decline is visible in gasoline, with Saudi exports through Bab el-Mandeb falling to 128,000t in July from 381,000t in June. Saudi Arabia's Red Sea ports had taken on a larger role in regional supply after the US-Iran war effectively shut the strait of Hormuz, lifting southbound flows through the Bab el-Mandeb between March and June. But no tankers carrying Saudi gasoline or naphtha appear to have transited the strait since the Houthis 'maritime ban' announcement.
Market participants also expect more Saudi Red Sea diesel to move west through Suez.
Adding to the uncertainty, the Houthis on Saturday claimed strikes on Saudi Aramco facilities at Jizan and Yanbu, with satellite imagery indicating fire at two storage tanks. The extent of any damage remains unclear, but traders point to potential delays in product loadings from the terminal.
