Seatrade Maritime is part of the Informa Markets Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.

Saudi suspends oil shipments through Bab El-Mandeb Strait after VLCC attacks

f1d9f2059a014905c3ddc2b3b1254789
Saudi Arabia has halted all oil shipments through the Bab El-Mandeb Strait after two VLCCs operated by the country's national shipping company Bahri were attacked by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.

Saudi Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, H.E. Khalid Al-Falih, that two VLCCs operated by Bahri transporting crude oil for Saudi Aramco were attacked by the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea on Wednesday morning. Saudi Aramco said that one of the vessels sustained minor damage.

A statement from Bahri said: “Bahri announces that one of its VLCCs had an incident on Wednesday 25/07/2018 while sailing ‎in the Red Sea. The VLCC suffered minor damage and no human injuries or ‎environmental damage have been reported.”

In reaction to the incident though Saudi Aramco is suspending all oil shipments through the Bab El-Mandeb Strait with connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.

“In the interest of the safety of ships and their crews and to avoid the risk of oil spill, Saudi Aramco has temporarily halted all oil shipments through Bab El-Mandeb with immediate effect. The Company is carefully assessing the situation and will take further action as prudence demands,” Saudi Aramco said.