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Oil tanker 'armada' moves to Red Sea with closure of Strait of Hormuz MEE staff on Thu, 03/12/2026 - 14:57 Tankers still have to pass the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, where the Houthis have attacked ships in recent years Boats manoeuvre around a tanker during a military exercise in the Strait of Hormuz by members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, on 17 February 2026 (Sepah News/AFP) Off A massive flotilla of tankers is rushing to Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast to pick up crude oil that has been diverted as a result of Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Between 24 and 30 large crude carriers are en route to the Saudi Arabian port city of Yanbu, where the East-West pipeline terminates, according to ship tracking data reported by Bloomberg and The Financial Times on Thursday.  With Iran having effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, the 1,200km East-West pipeline is now the juggernaut for Gulf oil exports. The pipeline runs from the Abqaiq oil field on the kingdom's eastern Gulf coast to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea. Saudi Aramco chief executive officer Amin Nasser said on Tuesday that the kingdom was ramping up crude flows through the pipeline. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a report published on Thursday that exports through the kingdom’s western ports had already hit 5.9 million barrels per day (bpd) on 9 March. That was a jump from just 1.7 million bpd in 2025. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Iran has shown that it is serious about closing the Strait of Hormuz, despite US President Donald Trump’s urging for vessels to go through the waterway, saying Iran’s navy had been “destroyed”. At least six vessels were attacked in the Gulf this week. Two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters were set ablaze on Wednesday, and four bulk carriers were also hit. “This is exactly what it was designed to do - bypass the strategic chokepoint of Hormuz if Iran shut it down and make Saudi Arabia the producer of last resort,” Jim Krane, a fellow and energy expert at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston, Texas, previously told Middle East Eye. 'This makes the Houthis important' The Red Sea route does not remove geopolitical risk. About 75 percent of Saudi Arabia’s crude is exported to Asian countries like China, India, Japan, and South Korea. That means vessels have to pass twice through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait - once to pick up Saudi crude, and again to bring it to Asian markets.  'Swinging into action:' The Saudi Arabian pipeline designed to bypass Hormuz Read More » "This makes the Houthis important,” Greg Priddy, a senior fellow for the Middle East at the Center for the National Interest, told MEE. The Houthis turned the Red Sea into a relative no-go zone for vessels after Israel’s war on Gaza broke out on 7 October 2023, following the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel. The Trump administration entered office vowing to bring the Houthis to heel with air strikes, but was unable to do that and instead cut a truce.  The Houthis have so far sat out the war on Iran, but if they resume attacking vessels, Iran would effectively have Saudi exports in a vice grip. In sum, around 18 million bpd of oil and four million bpd of refined products cross the Strait of Hormuz. Another pipeline constructed by the UAE can also bypass Hormuz through the port of Fujairah. The IEA said the port loaded an average of 2.4 million bpd between 4 March and 9 March. Even with both pipelines operating at full capacity, this leaves a gap of around 12 million bpd, with countries like Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq blocked from exporting via the Strait of Hormuz. War on Iran News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

Oil Shock’s Tentacles Grip World Economy: ‘This Really Is the Big One’  The New York Times

As the Strait of Hormuz stays shut, ships weigh a deadly choice  MS NOW

Midget subs and kamikaze drone boats - how Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz  Sky News

Vast release of emergency crude reserves fails to quell mounting fears about supply crunch, rattling markets Middle East crisis – live updates Oil markets are now facing the “largest supply disruption in history” as the war in Iran continues to block tankers from producing and shipping millions of barrels of crude each day, the world energy watchdog has warned. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said the supply shock ignited by Iran’s effective blockade of the strait of Hormuz meant the world faced a deeper crisis than after the Yom Kippur war of 1973 and the 2022 outbreak of war in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Iran has allowed ships from some countries to cross Strait of Hormuz, deputy FM says  The Times of Israel

Why might President Trump find it hard to reopen the Strait of Hormuz?  Reuters

Tehran will keep strait of Hormuz closed and continue attacks on US assets, speech read out on state TV says Middle East crisis – live updates Iran issued its first message in the name of its new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, on Thursday, saying it would keep the strait of Hormuz closed and continue to attack US bases in the region. The missive was read out on state TV rather than delivered live or on video, however, and will do little to satisfy those seeking proof that the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is actually alive. Continue reading...

Iran’s New Supreme Leader Vows to Keep Blocking Strait of Hormuz as Tankers Are Attacked and Oil Prices Soar  Time Magazine

Energy Secretary Wright says US could soon escort tankers in Strait of Hormuz, but ‘not ready’ yet  Fox Business

New Iran Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei says Strait of Hormuz must remain shut in first message: State TV  CBS News

Iran Spotlights How Trump Is Fracturing the Transatlantic Alliance  Center for American Progress

What it will mean for the economy if the Strait of Hormuz stays closed  Axios

Strait Of Hormuz Is Open — To Iranian Ships; Oil Prices Jump, S&P 500 Slides  Investor's Business Daily

Dow falls nearly 600 points, oil hits $100 as Iran’s new leader to keep Strait of Hormuz blocked  New York Post

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Iran has shuttered the crucial waterway and vowed to attack any ships that try to pass through

Fertilizer Stocks Jump With Shipments Stuck at the Strait of Hormuz  WSJ

GPS spoofing is scrambling ships in the Strait of Hormuz  Scientific American