Oil Tankers Continue Red Sea Movements despite Houthi Attacks

A container ship crosses an oil platform at the Gulf of Suez towards the Red Sea before entering the Suez Canal, outside of Cairo, Egypt September 1, 2020. Picture taken September 1, 2020. (Reuters)
A container ship crosses an oil platform at the Gulf of Suez towards the Red Sea before entering the Suez Canal, outside of Cairo, Egypt September 1, 2020. Picture taken September 1, 2020. (Reuters)
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Oil Tankers Continue Red Sea Movements despite Houthi Attacks

A container ship crosses an oil platform at the Gulf of Suez towards the Red Sea before entering the Suez Canal, outside of Cairo, Egypt September 1, 2020. Picture taken September 1, 2020. (Reuters)
A container ship crosses an oil platform at the Gulf of Suez towards the Red Sea before entering the Suez Canal, outside of Cairo, Egypt September 1, 2020. Picture taken September 1, 2020. (Reuters)

Oil and fuel tanker traffic in the Red Sea was stable in December, even though many container ships have rerouted due to attacks by Iran-aligned Houthi militants, a Reuters analysis of vessel tracking data showed.
The attacks have driven up shipping costs sharply along with insurance premiums, but have had less impact than feared on oil flows, with shippers continuing to use the key East-West passage. The Houthis, who have said they are targeting Israel-bound vessels, have largely attacked non-petroleum goods shipments.
The added costs have not made a big difference to most shippers so far because the Red Sea remains much more affordable than sending cargo around Africa. But the situation bears watching with some oil companies like BP and Equinor diverting cargoes to the longer route. Also, increased shipping costs are likely to boost exports of US crude to some European buyers, experts said.
"We haven't really seen the interruption to tanker traffic that everyone was expecting," said Michelle Wiese Bockmann, a shipping analyst at Lloyd's List.
A daily average of 76 tankers carrying oil and fuel were in the south Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in December, the area close to Yemen that has seen attacks. That was only two fewer than November's average and just three below the average for the first 11 months of 2023, according to data from ship tracking service MariTrace.
Rival tracking service Kpler tracked 236 ships on average daily across all of Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in December, slightly above the 230 daily average in November.
The additional cost of sailing around the Cape of Good Hope off Africa rather than via the Red Sea would make voyages to deliver oil less profitable, she said.
"So, you're going to try and go through", she said.
Since the beginning of December, chartering rates have roughly doubled according to data from ship analytics firm Marhelm. It costs as much as $85,000 a day to ship oil on Suezmax tankers, which can carry as much as 1 million barrels. Aframax vessels, which can move 750,000 barrels, cost $75,000 a day.
Tanker traffic in the south Red Sea region briefly dipped between Dec. 18 and Dec. 22 when the Houthi group intensified attacks on vessels, averaging 66 tankers, but movements resumed after, according to MariTrace.
Container ship traffic in the area has fallen more sharply, down 28% in December from November, with steep declines in the second half of the month as attacks mounted, according to MariTrace.
"STILL TAKING THE RISK"
Several oil majors, refiners and trading houses have continued to use the Red Sea route, according to an analysis of LSEG data.
"Shippers and their customers really want to avoid a schedule disruption. So they are still taking the risk," said Calvin Froedge, founder of Marhelm.
He noted that many oil tankers transiting the Red Sea were carrying Russian crude to India, which the Houthis have no interest in attacking.
The Chevron-chartered Delta Poseidon traversed the Suez Canal and Red Sea at the end of December en route to Singapore, according to LSEG's ship tracker. The Sanmar Sarod, chartered by Indian refiner Reliance, also crossed the Red Sea in late December to deliver gasoline components to the United States, data showed.
Chevron "will continue to actively assess the safety of routes in the Red Sea and throughout the Middle East and make decisions based on the latest developments," a spokesperson said.
Reliance did not respond to a request for a comment.
Other tankers, chartered by trading house Gunvor's unit Clearlake, Indian refiner Bharat Petroleum and Saudi Arabia's Aramco Trading Company, have all navigated the route in recent weeks. The companies either declined to comment or did not reply to requests for comments.
Using the Red Sea can be some 3,700 nautical miles off a trip from Singapore to Gibraltar.
SHIFTING FLOWS
Some companies such as BP and Equinor have paused all transits through the Red Sea and rerouted their vessels in the region.
Since the second half of December, at least 32 tankers have diverted or transited via the Cape of Good Hope, instead of using the Suez Canal, according to ship tracking service Vortexa.
The tankers that are diverting are mostly those chartered by companies who announced a pause on Red Sea movement, or those operated by US and Israel-linked entities, Vortexa added.
Fuel oil traders and bunkering sources in Asia said they were still monitoring Red Sea developments, though the East of Suez remains amply supplied for now so the current diversions are unlikely to boost prices.
East-to-west disruptions have mainly impacted European imports of diesel and jet fuel so far, Kpler data suggest. Meanwhile West to East diversions have impacted some European fuel oil and gasoline shipments to the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and East Africa, Kpler data shows.
Tensions there have also prompted more oil buyers to look to the U.S and likely played a role in the record 2.3 million barrels per day of crude exports to Europe in December, Matt smith, an analyst at ship tracking firm Kpler said.
"Ongoing uncertainty in the Red Sea is likely spurring on some modicum of European buying (of US crude)," Smith said.



US-backed Gaza Aid Group to Halt Distribution on Wednesday, UN to Vote on Ceasefire Demand 

Israeli shelling hits an area in the northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
Israeli shelling hits an area in the northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
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US-backed Gaza Aid Group to Halt Distribution on Wednesday, UN to Vote on Ceasefire Demand 

Israeli shelling hits an area in the northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
Israeli shelling hits an area in the northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)

The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation will not give out any aid on Wednesday as it presses Israel to boost civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its distribution sites, a day after dozens of Palestinians seeking aid were killed.

The GHF said it has asked the Israeli military to "guide foot traffic in a way that minimizes confusion or escalation risks" near military perimeters; develop clearer guidance for civilians; and enhance training to support civilian safety.

"Our top priority remains ensuring the safety and dignity of civilians receiving aid," said a GHF spokesperson. An Israeli military spokesperson warned civilians against moving in areas leading to GHF sites on Wednesday, deeming them "combat zones".

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it opened fire on a group of people it viewed as a threat near a GHF food aid distribution site. The International Committee of the Red Cross said at least 27 people were killed and dozens injured. The GHF said the incident was "well beyond" its site.

Palestinians who collected food GHF boxes on Tuesday described scenes of pandemonium, with no-one overseeing the handover of supplies or checking IDs, as crowds jostled for aid.

The UN Security Council is also set to vote on Wednesday on a demand for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas and humanitarian access across Gaza, where aid has trickled amid chaos and bloodshed after Israel lifted an 11-week blockade on the enclave where famine looms.

"It is unacceptable. Civilians are risking – and in several instances losing – their lives just trying to get food," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday, adding that the aid distribution model backed by the US and Israel was "all a recipe for disaster, which is exactly what is going on."

That model is run by the newly created GHF, which started operations in the enclave a week ago and said on Tuesday that it has given out more than seven million meals from three so-called secure distribution sites. GHF Interim Executive Director John Acree urged humanitarians in Gaza: "Work with us and we will get your aid delivered to those who are depending on it."

US VETO?

The UN and other aid groups have refused to work with the GHF because they say it is not neutral and the distribution model militarizes aid. GHF uses private US security and logistics companies to get aid to the distribution sites.

It is the latest in a string of efforts to get more aid into the enclave, where experts say the entire population of some 2.1 million people is at risk of famine. Jordan last year spearheaded humanitarian air drops, while the US briefly installed a floating aid pier, but it was beset by challenges.

The UN has long-blamed Israel and lawlessness in the enclave for hindering the delivery of aid into Gaza and its distribution throughout the war zone. Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies.

Israel said on Tuesday that three of its soldiers had been killed in fighting in northern Gaza. Gaza health officials said at least 18 more Palestinians were killed in other military strikes in the territory on Tuesday. Reuters could not independently verify the reports in northern and southern Gaza.

The 10 elected members of the UN Security Council have asked for the 15-member body to vote on Wednesday on a draft resolution that demands "an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza respected by all parties."

The draft text, seen by Reuters, also demands the release of all hostages held by Hamas and others, and the immediate lifting of all restrictions on the entry of aid and its safe and unhindered distribution, including by the UN, throughout Gaza.

"The time to act has already passed," Slovenia's UN Ambassador Samuel Zbogar told Reuters. "It is our historical responsibility not to remain silent."

As US President Donald Trump's administration tries to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, it was not immediately clear if Washington would veto the draft text. A spokesperson for the US mission to the UN said: "We cannot preview our actions currently under consideration."

A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the permanent members - the United States, Russia, China, Britain or France - to pass.

The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas fighters killed 1,200 people in Israel in an October 7 attack and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, which do not distinguish between fighters and non-combatants.