Saudi Oil Shipper Booking Tankers At High Rates As Riyadh Looks To Bypass Hormuz: Report

Last Updated:March 12, 2026, 21:46 IST

A large armada of tankers that stretches from Singapore to the Red Sea is on its way to reroute Saudi Arabia's supplies from the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Arabia’s biggest oil shipper is reportedly booking oil tankers at sky-high rates as the country is rushing to reroute supplies through a pipeline to the Red Sea to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, which has been shut due to the ongoing US-Israeli war against Iran.

The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia, also known as Bahri, has hired at least six very-large crude carriers to take barrels from the western port of Yanbu in recent days, according to a report by Bloomberg. A shipbroker and two vessel owners said they believed the company’s spree is larger than that, with more deals likely in the future.

ALSO READ: Iran’s Mojtaba Khamenei Orders Strait Of Hormuz Closed Amid War, Signals More Attacks On US

The bookings come as a large armada of tankers that stretches from Singapore to the Red Sea is arriving at Saudi Arabia to reroute supplies as exports have come to a virtual halt through the Strait of Hormuz, which typically handles a fifth of global supplies. That fleet contains at least 24 ships, although it is unknown who are controlling the vessels.

Iran has stepped up attacks on oil and transport facilities, and at least six tankers have been struck in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, pushing oil prices over up to $100 a barrel more than once this week.

Saudi’s Hormuz Alternative

Many of Bahri’s bookings were made at 450 industry-standard Worldscale points, which correspond to over $450,000 per day. Before the war, the industry’s benchmark rate had never exceeded $300,000 per day, Bloomberg reported.

Bahri said it continues to manage operations in line with established safety and operational protocols while closely monitoring regional developments, adding it couldn’t comment on commercial matters, according to the report.

Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco chief Amin H Nasser said he expected a pipeline that transports barrels about 1,200 km across the country to be running at full capacity in a matter of days, signalling Saudi Arabia’s objective to ramp up exports through the main alternative to Hormuz.

The pipeline is able to handle 7 million barrels a day, though about 2 million barrels a day of that capacity will feed refineries within Saudi Arabia. This means that the Red Sea pipeline will handle a large chunk of the country’s usual energy exports.

News world Saudi Oil Shipper Booking Tankers At High Rates As Riyadh Looks To Bypass Hormuz: Report

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