Saudi Crude Tanker Goes Dark to Slip Through Bab el-Mandeb

Saudi Crude Tanker Goes Dark to Slip Through Bab el-Mandeb What I Cover Tsvetana Paraskova is an energy and commodities journalist who has contributed to Oilprice.com for nearly a decade, covering global energy markets, commodities,… At least one oil tanker carrying Saudi crude oil has transited the Bab al-Mandeb Strait with its transponder switched off as risks to vessels in the Red Sea spiked this week after the Houthis announced a blockade on Saudi shipments and targeted vessels offshore Yemen.
The Merbabu tanker, owned by a Greek company and laden with Saudi crude oil, transited the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the so-called dark mode, which many shippers and tanker operators used for months to move undetected to hostile targeting in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Merbabu emerged in the Arabian Sea late on Thursday, with its AIS positioning signal on.

The previous broadcast from the vessel was from the Red Sea, per tanker-tracking data monitored byBloomberg.
In the previous broadcast from the Red Sea three days ago, the Merbabu openly broadcast that it has “NO LINK ISRAEL UK US”, according todataon MarineTraffic.
SetOilPrice.comas a preferred source in Googlehere.
Traffic at Bab al-Mandeb has not collapsed, unlike at the Strait of Hormuz, and vessels – especially those not carrying Saudi oil – were moving out and into the Red Sea on Friday.
Earlier this week, the Iran-aligned Houthisannouncedthey had expanded their campaign against maritime traffic by targeting Saudi oil shipments through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the key chokepoint on the Red Sea, through which Saudi Arabia has re-directed most of its crude oil shipments to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
China-bound tankers appear to move through Bab el-Mandeb, but some others, including Denmark-flagged products tanker Torm Innovation, have made U-turns in the Red Sea and are nowheading north towardthe Suez Canal.
Despite the Houthi blockade, “two China-crewed, China-bound tankers loaded at Yanbu and cleared Bab al-Mandeb apparently untouched,” maritime intelligence firm Windwardsaidon Thursday.
“Enforcement is calibrated to crew and ownership, not cargo.
Saudi crude keeps moving as long as the vessel carrying it sits outside the target set.” China Rushes to Secure Russian Oil as Middle East Supply Risks Escalate What I Cover Tsvetana Paraskova is an energy and commodities journalist who has contributed to Oilprice.com for nearly a decade, covering global energy markets, commodities,… ING: Oil Prices Have Overshot To The Downside Russia’s Oil Windfall Vanishes as Urals Crashes to $42 a Barrel Iran Tightens Grip on Strait of Hormuz Tanker Traffic Saudi Arabia Set to Slash Oil Prices as Hormuz Reopens Iran Sneaks 12 Million Barrels Past Renewed U.S.
| Product | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Brent Crude | $102.14/bbl | +0.34% |
| WTI Crude | $96.90/bbl | +0.21% |
| EN590 Diesel | $846/MT | +0.18% |
| Jet Fuel A-1 | $1090/MT | +0.55% |
| Mazut M100 | $450/MT | -0.15% |
| Bitumen 60/70 | $470/MT | +0.08% |
| Sulphur Gran 99.5% | $470/MT | -0.44% |
| Urea 46% Gran | $650/MT | +1.12% |
| NPK 16-16-16 | $460/MT | -0.28% |
| Nat Gas TTF | $15.42/MMBtu | +0.92% |
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