Chinese Tankers Brave Houthi Blockade in Red Sea

Two Chinese very large crude carriers, the Xin Long Yang and Cosnew Lake, attempted to exit the Red Sea via the Bab El-Mandeb strait on Thursday. The vessels are chartered by Unipec, the trading arm of Sinopec, and carry a combined 4 million barrels of Saudi Arabian oil loaded at the port of Yanbu.

This transit occurred as the Houthi movement tested a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia announced on Monday. On Thursday, the Houthis claimed to have attacked two Saudi tankers with drones and missiles for violating the blockade. The Saudi Arabian news agency SPA confirmed that the vessel Encelia was attacked and caught fire, though the crew remained safe.

The maritime instability in the Red Sea coincides with a severe decline in traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which has practically shut down due to renewed fighting between the United States and Iran.