The Red Sea market saw a clear uptick in crude fixtures at Yanbu in Saudi Arabia as geopolitical tensions around the US–Iran conflict intensified. Several crude cargoes were fixed recently between 12–24 March, spanning Suezmax and VLCC parcels from charterers including Reliance, BPCL, Bahri, PETCO, and Chinese buyers. The rise in flows highlighted how buyers looked to avoid exposure to the increasingly risky transit of the Strait of Hormuz.
With transit risk climbing, charterers appeared more willing to pay up for Red Sea access and the flexibility Yanbu provides. Rates ranged from a firm WS750 on the Adebole Adeline to lump‑sum deals such as USD 23 million on the Kalamos and a WS670 plus $430,000 demurrage structure on the Adamantios.
The mix of planned destinations, from Jamnagar and Kochi to China and East Coast India, reinforced the current strategic value of Yanbu as a safer alternative while Hormuz remained uncertain. As charterers sought routes with lower geopolitical exposure, the East‑to‑West Saudi crude pipeline added a crucial layer of resilience by allowing barrels to bypass Hormuz entirely.
Furthermore, Wood Mackenzie tracking shows several Saudi flagged VLCC shuttling between Yanbu and Ain Sukhna since the start of the month. With two more VLCC tankers heading to destiantions in East Asia. Record export volumes from Yanbu for the first week since the conflict began are already edging close to 3mn bpd.
