Red Sea fix? China-bound oil tankers tap Saudi plan to bypass Strait of Hormuz
Key Takeaways
- Saudi activates Red Sea Plan B to divert crude via Yanbu, bypassing Hormuz.
- China-bound tankers, including VLCCs, will use the Yanbu route.
- Analysts say the plan only partly offsets disruptions and carries high security risks.
Red Sea Plan B
Saudi Arabia is activating its Red Sea “Plan B” to divert crude via the port of Yanbu, allowing tankers – including Chinese very large crude carriers (VLCCs) – to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
Analysts warn the route has limited capacity.
New Vista voyage details
New Vista, a VLCC owned by China Merchants Energy Shipping, had departed from Yanbu and was bound for Quanzhou in south China’s Fujian province, where it is expected to arrive on April 3, according to vessel-tracking data platform Myvessel.
March 1 incident and redirect
The oil tanker had approached the Strait of Hormuz on March 1 but did not transit the strategic waterway.
That same day, at least three tankers near ports in the United Arab Emirates and Oman were struck by projectiles, causing fires and crew casualties.
New Vista instead altered course towards the Red Sea, arriving at Yanbu on March 11 and departing on March 13 after loading.
Ongoing Red Sea pickups, analyst
More tankers in the Red Sea are now en route to the port for similar crude oil pickups.
“The Yanbu route is open to all international buyers, but China-bound cargoes are expected to take a significant share, given that China is a major customer of Saudi Aramco,” said Xu Muyu, a senior crude oil analyst at Kpler.
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