Title: Shipping Companies Reject Riyadh’s Assurances: Oil Tankers Avoid Yanbu Port over Red Sea Risks
Asian refiners demand Aramco alter delivery routes for Saudi crude amid escalating fears of navigating the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait
NYN | Reports and Analyses
Saudi crude exports via the Red Sea are confronting growing headwinds as a number of shipping lines and Asian refiners refrain from loading and taking delivery of oil cargoes out of Yanbu Port, driven by intensifying navigational hazards across the region.
US agency Bloomberg reported that securing oil tankers willing to transit the Bab al-Mandab Strait has grown increasingly difficult, fueled by concerns that vessels could be targeted if they defy warnings and restrictions imposed on shipping to and from Saudi Red Sea ports.
Asian Refiners Demand Shift in Oil Shipping Routes
According to the report, two Asian refiners requested that Saudi Aramco change the delivery point for their crude shipments to Egypt’s Sidi Kerir terminal on the Mediterranean, rather than Yanbu Port on the Red Sea.
This request underlines rising hesitation among Asian buyers to rely on the Red Sea maritime corridor given the risks now plaguing tanker transit through the area.
Refiner Threatens to Forfeit Saudi Crude Allocation
In a further sign of heightened alarm, another Asian refiner warned Aramco that it might forfeit its monthly Saudi crude allocation due to its refusal to take delivery via Yanbu.
The refiner noted that routing shipments around the African continent to bypass the Red Sea and reach Asian markets would significantly drive up freight costs, rendering the purchases economically unviable.
Red Sea Risks Weigh on Saudi Oil Exports
These developments indicate that crude buyers and ocean carriers are increasingly prioritizing the security and logistical risks bound up with Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab navigation over Saudi assurances regarding the uninterrupted flow of its petroleum exports along this route.
This comes at a time when the energy sector is growing acutely sensitive to disruptions along maritime supply arteries, particularly given the Red Sea’s status as a critical transit route for tankers moving between the Gulf and global markets.
Consequently, Saudi Arabia faces an added challenge in maintaining the smooth flow of its Red Sea oil exports as select buyers and carriers refuse to absorb the risks tied to this route—a situation that threatens higher freight expenses or a forced shift toward alternative supply pathways.
