Across 2022 and 2023, tanker markets were forced to adapt to severe dislocations following sanctions on Russian crude and oil products. This year, the Middle East furnished the geopolitical events to once again dislocate global shipping.
Attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on ships passing through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden have redirected millions of barrels of oil away from the key waterway. According to data intelligence firm Kpler, so far this year over 1.5mn b/d of crude and refined products from Asia bound for Europe has been diverted around Africa’s southern Cape. This excludes oil shipped from Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, a geographical advantage the country has capitalized on recently (MEES, 27 September). (CONTINUED - 749 WORDS)
