To evade Houthi attacks, an increasing number of oil tankers entering the Red Sea to load Saudi crude oil are reporting their destination ports as the Suez Canal or Egypt, rather than Saudi Arabian ports. The Iran-backed, Yemen-based militant group announced a blockade of Saudi ports in late July, subsequently attacking vessels linked to Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea.
This week, the Houthis stated that their strike range would expand to include Saudi ships in the northern Red Sea. Saudi Aramco has redirected more tankers to the area in an attempt to ensure safe departure. The "Ocean Majesty" approached the Suez Canal this week, with draft data indicating it had turned off its vessel transponder to secretly load oil in the Red Sea.
Shipping data analysts Vortexa and Kepler, using satellite imagery and maritime data, concluded that the vessel completed loading at the Yanbu port but never reported Saudi Arabia as its destination, instead declaring Egypt's Ain Sokhna port as its destination. The "Ocean Majesty" and "Maran Thetis" both declared Egyptian ports as their destinations before entering the Red Sea, later reappearing near the Suez Canal, likely carrying Saudi crude oil.
Ain Sokhna port, equipped with storage tanks and pipelines, supports Suez Canal operations, a key waterway connecting Asia and Europe. The port and canal handle a diverse range of cargo, including Russian crude oil and consumer goods, making them relatively less likely targets for Houthi attacks. Due to frequent vessel attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, shipping operators are increasingly inclined to conceal their navigational intentions to avoid becoming targets.
Saudi Arabia is currently maintaining exports by diverting more crude oil to Egypt's Ain Sokhna and Sidi Krir terminals, which are farther from the Houthi base in Yemen. However, as the operational range of the Iran-backed proxy group continues to expand, the long-term safety of these ports remains uncertain. Another vessel, the "Maran Thetis," anchored in the Gulf of Aden in late July, with its last reported heading toward the canal. The ship reappeared on tracking systems on Wednesday, fully loaded, with Vortexa noting its cargo origin as Yanbu port.
Earlier, the "Frontier Empire" and "DHT Gazelle" also turned off their transponders to load oil in the Red Sea before reappearing on vessel tracking platforms and subsequently exiting the Suez Canal. Both ships most likely loaded at Yanbu, one of only two major crude oil export terminals in the Red Sea. The other is Sudan's Bashayer port, which generally does not handle large-scale crude shipments and operates less frequently.
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