Oil Tankers Turn Back in Red Sea After Houthi Attack Threat

Three oil tankers have made U-turns in the southern Red Sea after warnings from Houthi rebels in Yemen that they would target ships heading to or from Saudi ports. The VLCC Xin Long Yang makes a U-turn in the southern Red Sea after Houthi rebels in Yemen warn they’ll attack ships calling at Saudi ports. Source: BloombergThe diversions underline how threats by Houthi rebels risk curbing Saudi oil exports from the Red Sea hub that has become a crucial workaround since the Iran war severely disrupted shipping out of Persian Gulf ports. However, the supertanker would have to offload about half its cargo into the Sumed pipeline that crosses Egypt from the Red Sea to its Mediterranean coast, before it could transit the canal. The original route to China would take them through the Bab el Mandeb strait, a narrow passage of water linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.