Two Asia-Bound Saudi Supertankers Course After Houthi Warnings

Two supertankers carrying Saudi crude oil destined for China and India have reversed direction in the Red Sea following explicit naval blockade warnings from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi forces. The commercial vessels—the Jin Long Yang and the Rhodos—altered their paths near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, steering back toward the Suez Canal to avoid entering high-risk maritime zones.

A report by news agency Reuters indicates that the disruption comes against the backdrop of an ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz, stemming from wider regional conflicts involving Iran, the United States, and Israel. With the Red Sea serving as a key alternative transit route, emerging obstacles along this choke point have renewed fears of energy supply disruptions worldwide.

The sudden course corrections follow an official maritime blockade announced by Houthi authorities targeting Saudi Arabian shipping. In warning notices sent via email to international maritime firms, the group cautioned commercial fleets against picking up or delivering cargo at any Saudi port, stating that non-compliant vessels could face military targeting anywhere within their operational range.

Satellite vessel-tracking records show that the Jin Long Yang, holding 2 million barrels of crude bound for China after leaving Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port, and the Rhodos, carrying roughly 700,000 barrels bound for India, both turned away from the Bab el-Mandeb threshold. Furthermore, a third tanker, the New Prime, which was en route to load crude at Yanbu, changed its course off the coast of Oman.

Because Houthi forces maintain positions along the Bab el-Mandeb bottleneck, war risk insurance premiums for vessels traversing the Red Sea have spiked. Private maritime security company Ambrey has advised shipping operators with vessels calling at or departing from Saudi ports to reconsider their transit plans through the corridor.

Industry analysts highlight that avoiding the Bab el-Mandeb Strait forces commercial vessels to undertake lengthy detours—routing through the Suez Canal, across the Mediterranean, or around the Cape of Good Hope—to reach destinations in Asia. These alternate routes can add several weeks to transit times, threatening to strain global supply chains and heighten economic pressures.