Two Chinese supertankers carrying a combined 4 million barrels of Saudi Arabian oil exited the Red Sea via the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, dodging regional maritime blockades even as other commercial vessels came under sustained attack. According to shipping data published on Thursday, the movements highlight ongoing vulnerabilities in critical Middle Eastern energy corridors.
Red Sea Tanker Movements and Houthi Attacks
The Singaporean-flagged VLCC Xin Long Yang made an abrupt U-turn and paused in the middle of the Red Sea before resuming its southward journey, according to LSEG shipping data. It was quickly followed by the Chinese-flagged VLCC Cosnew Lake, with both supertankers safely exiting the Red Sea later on Thursday. LSEG data confirmed that both vessels indicated Chinese crews were onboard via their automatic identification system transmitters.
The ships are chartered by Unipec, the trading arm of Asia’s largest refiner Sinopec, after loading crude at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu. The Xin Long Yang headed toward the port of Qinzhou in Guangxi province, while the Cosnew Lake directed its course toward Huizhou in Guangdong province. Meanwhile, at least two other Unipec-chartered VLCCs scheduled to load Saudi crude at Yanbu slowed their advance and began making small circles in the Gulf of Aden to avoid conflict zones, according to LSEG records.
The successful exits occurred against a backdrop of intensified militant action. The Iran-aligned Houthi movement announced they had executed a military operation targeting two Saudi oil tankers that allegedly violated their blockade. Shipping data confirmed that both targeted vessels supply crude directly to Saudi power plants and local refineries. The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that the Saudi vessel Encelia was attacked in the Red Sea and caught fire, though confirmation from authorities verified that the crew remained safe.
Strait of Hormuz Disruptions and Shipping Traffic Decline
The dual maritime pressure points in the Middle East have severely impacted global energy logistics. The Red Sea blockade by Houthi forces is compounding energy supply disruptions alongside the practical closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which stems from the resumption of military hostilities between the United States and Iran.
Data from LSEG and analytics firm Kpler showed that traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait dropped notably. On Wednesday, 27 vessels—including five oil tankers and one liquefied petroleum gas carrier—crossed the strait, down from 38 vessels the previous day. Additionally, data from Vortexa showed a single VLCC exiting the Bab el-Mandeb with its transponder switched off.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained heavily subdued. Two VLCCs emerged from Hormuz on Thursday: the New Giant, carrying 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude toward the Chinese port of Rizhao, and the Rotterdam Energy, carrying 2 million barrels of UAE Upper Zakum crude, which appeared off Fujairah, according to LSEG and Kpler tracking metrics. Commodity vessel transits through Hormuz dropped to just three ships on Wednesday, compared to four the day prior and 18 on the same day the previous week. Kpler tracking also noted that two vessels entered the strait from the Gulf of Oman, including a dirty petroleum products tanker sailing through Iranian waters and a dry bulk carrier operating in “dark mode” with its tracking signals disabled. LSEG records show that as of July 20, a total of 253 laden tankers remained trapped or stationed in the Gulf, encompassing 102 oil tankers, 64 LNG carriers, and 66 LPG carriers.
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