Saudi And Russian Oil Tankers Take Rare Detour Around Africa

Six Saudi oil tankers have diverted away from the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint and appear to be embarking on the unusual route around Africa, as Houthi threats continue to disrupt shipping through the Red Sea. Two empty very large crude carriers, Hazm and Dilam, are signalling toward Gibraltar, a major Mediterranean refuelling hub, according to ship-tracking data.

The remaining four tankers, Ghinah, Laynah, Salam and Burqan, are indicating South Africa's Durban or Algoa Bay as destinations, ports commonly used as waypoints for cross-continental voyages. Most Saudi crude typically escapes the Strait of Hormuz through the East-West Pipeline to Yanbu on the Red Sea coast, then continues south through Bab el-Mandeb toward Asia.

That southern route has become increasingly risky after Yemen's Houthi rebels expanded a maritime blockade targeting Saudi-linked shipping. Two tankers carrying Saudi crude, the Rodos and Xin Long Yang, reversed course in the Red Sea after the blockade announcement, together carrying a combined 2.8 million barrels of oil from Yanbu.

Rerouting around Africa adds substantial time and cost. A full supertanker cannot transit the Suez Canal, since the channel is too shallow, meaning Saudi operators must unload part of the cargo at Ain Sokhna, pipe it through to Sidi Kerir, send the vessel through Suez empty, and reload on the other side before continuing around the Cape of Good Hope, a round trip estimated at around eight weeks.

Russian oil has followed a similar pattern before. In 2024, Russia sent a supertanker fully around Africa to Asia after cargo transfers near Egypt's Port Said were disrupted, even though most Russian crude continued transiting the Red Sea at the time. US Energy Information Administration data from that period found Russia shipped nearly four times as much crude and oil products around the Cape of Good Hope in the first five months of 2024 compared with all of 2023.

The Cape route typically adds around 15 days to a journey between the Arabian Sea and Europe compared with transiting Bab el-Mandeb and the Suez Canal, nearly doubling shipping time. Analysts caution that alternatives to the Red Sea corridor remain limited, since Russian crude bound for Asia largely transits the same waters now facing disruption.

Maritime intelligence firm Windward said Saudi crude flows have effectively split into two streams, with Yanbu port shifting toward AIS-dark tanker operations, meaning vessels are switching off their transponders as they shield against being targeted by the Houthi threat list.

Analysts warn the disruption could ripple beyond the affected cargoes themselves. Reduced tanker availability across the region is expected to support freight markets more broadly, and if Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb both remain compromised simultaneously, the resulting squeeze could raise import costs and tighten crude availability on international markets.