Dark Tanker Transits Surge at Bab el-Mandeb as Houthi Threat Persists

AI Summary

The threat posed by Houthi militants to Saudi crude oil shipments via the Bab el-Mandeb Strait remains significant, with increased tanker transits taking place under dark mode to avoid detection. This activity highlights ongoing security risks affecting shipping routes and crude oil transportation in the Red Sea region.

The Houthi threat to shipments of Saudi crude oil from the Red Sea hasn’t abated and more tankers laden with Saudi oil appeared to have made the transit through the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint in dark mode. Two tankers that had loaded Saudi crude at the Red Sea port of Yanbu have likely exited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in southern direction with their transponders off, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing vessel-tracking data it is monitoring. The Greece-owned Lesvos tanker of the Suezmax size and the supertanker Desh Vaibhav, flying the Indian…