Chinese supertankers test Houthi Red Sea blockade with Saudi oil cargo

Two Chinese-operated supertankers carrying a combined 4 million barrels of Saudi Arabian crude are attempting to exit the Red Sea through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, testing the Houthis' newly announced naval blockade against Saudi Arabia.

Shipping data cited by Reuters showed that the Xin Long Yang and Cosnew Lake, both chartered by Unipec, the trading arm of China's Sinopec, resumed their southbound journeys on Thursday (July 23) after earlier delays in the Red Sea.

The developments come hours after the Houthis said they had targeted two Saudi oil tankers with drones and missiles. Saudi state news agency SPA later reported that the Saudi vessel Encelia had come under attack in the Red Sea and caught fire, although all crew members were reported safe.

According to shipping data, the Singapore-flagged Xin Long Yang, which had paused and turned around in the central Red Sea on Tuesday (July 21), resumed its voyage late on Wednesday (July 22). The vessel is bound for Qinzhou in southern China, while the Chinese-flagged Cosnew Lake is expected to discharge its cargo at Huizhou in Guangdong Province.

Both vessels loaded crude oil at Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port earlier this week and are managed by Cosco Shipping. Shipping data also indicated that both tankers have Chinese crews on board.

Meanwhile, at least two other Unipec-chartered very large crude carriers (VLCCs), due to enter the Red Sea later this month to load Saudi crude, have slowed their approach to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and were seen making holding patterns in the Gulf of Aden, according to LSEG data.

The attempted transit comes as regional tensions continue to disrupt global shipping. The Houthis announced on July 20 that they would impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, while renewed fighting between the United States and Iran has also reduced traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Shipping activity through both strategic waterways has fallen sharply. LSEG data showed that 27 vessels crossed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on July 22 down from 38 the previous day. Separate data from Kpler indicated that only three commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on July 22, compared with 18 a week earlier.

As of 20 July, LSEG data showed there were 253 laden tankers in the Gulf, including 102 oil tankers, 64 liquefied natural gas carriers and 66 liquefied petroleum gas carriers.

By Aghakazim Guliyev