The Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea are simultaneously facing a blockade crisis, creating a rare absurd scenario in the global energy and shipping markets. Asian refiners are currently seeking to transport Saudi crude oil via the Suez Canal, a detour that will add up to four weeks of travel time, further pushing up shipping freight and fuel costs.
Dual Strait Threats Escalate, Asian Tankers Forced to Reroute
Saudi Arabia's Red Sea shipping route faces renewed disruption. According to Reuters, after Yemen's Houthi group, backed by Iran's Tehran government, announced a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia on Monday (20th), Asian refiners have begun adjusting transport routes, planning to divert crude loaded at Saudi Red Sea ports via the Suez Canal around Africa to Asia, indicating that the Middle East situation continues to impact global oil supply chains.
In recent months, ongoing US-Iran conflict and heightened shipping risks in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea have forced Asian refiners to seek alternative crude sources or adjust transport routes. This latest rerouting also means global crude logistics are facing a new wave of impact.
The report indicates that two oil tankers fully loaded with Saudi crude, originally heading to Asia, turned back on Tuesday (21st) after being threatened by the Houthi group in the Red Sea. The number of vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz has also declined further early this week.
Detour Adds Four Weeks, Transshipment Costs and Complexity Soar
Industry experts warn that compared to the previous route from Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port of Yanbu eastward to the Arabian Sea, changing to a westward route from Yanbu to Egypt and then via the Suez Canal around Africa to Asia will add about four weeks of travel time, and freight rates and fuel costs will also rise significantly.
The latest vessel tracking data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) and data analytics firm Kpler shows that a Liberian-flagged tanker, the "Rodos," which had completed loading crude at Yanbu and was originally scheduled to sail to the west coast of India, has now turned westward and is preparing to enter the Suez Canal.
In addition, shipping sources revealed that South Korean refiner Hyundai Oilbank was also looking for a very large crude carrier (VLCC) on Tuesday to load crude at Yanbu, while retaining the option to transport the oil to South Korea via the Suez Canal and the Suez-Mediterranean Pipeline (SUMED).
Since a fully loaded VLCC has too deep a draft to pass directly through the Suez Canal, operators typically first transfer part of the crude via the SUMED pipeline to reduce the vessel's draft on the Red Sea side, then reload the crude on the Mediterranean side after the ship passes through the canal.
Shipping sources said that charterers are currently evaluating options using SUMED or the Suez Canal based on actual conditions; if the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea is fully blocked, parties will recalculate the additional costs of the reroute.
Kpler's head of commodity research pointed out that the change in tanker routes shows that the shipping industry is taking the security threats seriously. For Saudi Arabia, the Houthi disruption is adding insult to injury, as last month Saudi Arabia's crude and petroleum product transshipments via the Bab el-Mandeb Strait had just hit a record high of over 4 million barrels per day, and now this energy lifeline faces a severe test.
