VLCCs lighten loads to slip through Suez as Houthi blockade bites
- Facing the Houthi blockade of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, VLCCs loading at Yanbu are lightening their cargoes to slip through the Suez Canal instead of running the Bab el Mandeb
- Tracking data shows at least three tankers using the manoeuvre and arrivals at Ain Sukhna climbing, with owners increasingly going dark to avoid attack
- Rather than part-discharging at Ain Sukhna, some VLCCs simply load a reduced parcel at Yanbu from the outset, keeping them within the canal’s draught limits without the extra stop
- The detours lengthen voyages and lift freight rates, and China Merchants argues widened crude discounts will keep Saudi barrels flowing to Asia
Switched-off transponders and part-discharged cargoes reveal how far tanker owners are going to keep Saudi crude moving under the shadow of the Houthi blockade
