More ships avoiding Red Sea gateway after fresh Houthi threats, data shows

LONDON (Reuters) — Four tankers changed course in the Red Sea on Wednesday, with two signaling the Suez Canal as their new destination after Yemen’s Houthi rebels warned ships to avoid sailing to Saudi Arabian ports, ship-tracking data showed.

The Iran-aligned Houthis on Monday declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia, opening a potential new front against the United States in its war with Iran and raising the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf.

“The threat of Houthi hostile actions against Saudi Arabia … has begun to have an overall effect on tanker activity,” ship broker Clarksons said in a note.

“There are reports of several tankers, having loaded in Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port in the Red Sea, that have shifted course towards the Suez Canal rather than sail south towards the Bab el-Mandeb strait, while others are holding their positions waiting for further instruction.”

Ships with links to Israel, the United States or Saudi Arabia are at a higher risk of being attacked by the Houthis and are advised to avoid voyages through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden until the threat level decreases, the European Union’s Aspides naval force said on Wednesday in an advisory seen by Reuters.

Any vessel that recently called at, loaded cargo or discharged cargo at Saudi ports should “reduce its electronic footprint by minimizing AIS (ship-tracking) transmissions and limiting any publicly accessible digital information that could facilitate targeting,” the advisory said.

5 tankers carrying Saudi-origin crude and refined products reversed course ahead of Bab al-Mandab as Houthi blockade activity intensifies in the Red Sea. Combined cargo volume approximately 3.84 million barrels of crude, gasoil, and naphtha. Four vessels u-turned within the Red… pic.twitter.com/QkgtQ1LLFo

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The four tankers all changed direction, two of which signaled their destination as open waters in the Red Sea, according to LSEG and MarineTraffic ship-tracking data and analysis from British maritime risk-management group Vanguard.

A fifth ship — a vehicle carrier called Liu Jiang Kou — appeared to have turned away in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday after signaling the Saudi Red Sea port of Jeddah as its next destination, shipping data showed. The vessel’s manager, China’s COSCO Shipping group, did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Three oil tankers loaded with Saudi crude for China and India made U-turns in the Red Sea on Tuesday, heading towards the Suez Canal rather than braving the Yemeni coast. One of these tankers included the Xin Long Yang, managed by COSCO.

Critical Hormuz alternative

A closure of the Red Sea’s southern gateway would remove a critical alternative to the Strait of Hormuz for Saudi Arabia and heighten fears of shortages.

“This [Houthi] embargo raises serious questions about the viability of eastbound routes from Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port – the outlet for its east-west pipeline,” ship broker Braemar said in a separate note.

A number of tankers were still visible close to Yanbu’s anchorage on Wednesday, ship-tracking data showed.

Red Sea traffic has not fully recovered since Houthi attacks off Yemen’s coast began in November 2023 in what the Iran-backed group said was solidarity with Palestinians amid the Israeli war with fellow Tehran proxy Hamas in Gaza, which was sparked by the group’s October 7, 2023, onslaught in southern Israel.

The Houthi attacks on merchant ships only ended with the Gaza ceasefire in October.

The Houthis told shipping companies not to load or discharge cargo at Saudi Arabian ports, or they may be targeted. Maritime security sources, meanwhile, said they had received recordings of separate Houthi warnings to ships in the Red Sea since Monday.

“They warn all vessels intending to proceed to Saudi ports that they will be open targets,” said one shipping source who receives updates from a ship in the Red Sea.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.