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.
