Two tankers carrying Saudi crude for Indian refiners have exited the Red Sea through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait by sailing dark, switching off their transponders after Yemen’s Houthis announced a blockade on Saudi shipments, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
What happened to the tankers en route to India?
The Suezmax tanker Amazon, chartered by Indian Oil Corporation, loaded 1 million barrels of oil, while the Aframax tanker Rodos lifted 700,000 barrels of crude for Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited at Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port around July 20. Both vessels briefly turned north toward the Suez Canal before switching off their Automatic Identification System transponders around July 22, preventing public tracking, and instead headed south to exit the Red Sea through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Why did the tankers go dark?
Sources said going dark is normal practice for vessels transiting war zone areas, and one source told Reuters the owner shut off the transponders on both vessels for safety purposes. These are the first confirmed instances of tankers carrying Saudi crude for India adopting this practice since the blockade was announced. The Rodos is expected to arrive at Mangalore on August 1, while the Amazon is scheduled to reach Chennai in early August. Both vessels are managed by Greece-based Dynacom Tankers, which had no immediate comment when contacted by Reuters.
What prompted the shift to dark transits?
The tankers switched off their transponders after two other Dynacom-managed vessels, the Malta-flagged Panamax tanker Kavomaleas and the Liberian-flagged VLCC Acheloos, were hit by projectiles, raising security concerns for vessels transiting the corridor.
How are Indian refiners responding to the Red Sea disruption?
Indian refiners have shifted toward Middle East cargoes on a delivered basis following Houthi attacks on several Saudi tankers. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals said in its latest tender that it will only purchase oil shipped on routes avoiding both the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, reflecting growing caution among Indian buyers over the safety of traditional supply corridors.
What does this mean for India’s crude oil supply chain?
The developments underscore the mounting operational and safety challenges facing tankers serving India’s refining sector, as owners and charterers weigh the risks of transiting the Red Sea against the higher costs and longer transit times of alternative routes around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope.
