After a one-week pause Chinese VLCCs resumed loading Saudi crude but shifted routes away from the Red Sea to sail around Africa. On Aug. 4 COSCO’s 330,000 dwt VLCC Yuanxihu arrived off Egypt’s Sidi Kerir terminal in the Mediterranean to await loading

2026-08-06

After a one-week pause Chinese VLCCs resumed loading Saudi crude but shifted routes away from the Red Sea to sail around Africa. On Aug. 4 COSCO’s 330,000 dwt VLCC Yuanxihu arrived off Egypt’s Sidi Kerir terminal in the Mediterranean to await loading. The ship had entered the Red Sea on July 11 and remained off Yanbu after Houthi forces announced a maritime blockade of Saudi waters. On Aug. 1 Yuanxihu, in ballast, transited north through the Suez Canal with its destination shown as Sidi Kerir.