Red Sea Escalations Prompting Oil Vessel Diversions Friday

At least three tanker firms have said they are going to suspend sending their ships via the southern Red Sea due to Houthi rebel attack escalations following US/UK air strikes on rebel positions in Yemen Friday.

• Headlines emerged from Stena Bulk, Hafnia and Trom that they would avoid the route. The companies operate more than 350 tankers between them.
• At least four oil tankers have diverted from the Red Sea following US and UK strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to Reuters citing LSEG and Kpler data. Bloomberg vessel tracking flagged at lease fuel tanker diversions.
• The situation was previously only really impacting the container space but is having a bigger impact for energy over the last week as security issues develop.
• The Combined Military Forces — including both the US and UK navies — advised merchant shipping to stay away from the area earlier Friday morning UK time, prompting numerous vessels to turn away.
• “Should the situation escalate, all ships must be expected to avoid the Red Sea until safe passage is restored and effectively close the Suez Canal for all ships” Bimco said.
• *TANKER FIRM STENA BULK HALTS SOUTHERN RED SEA TRANSITS: CEO – bbg
• *TANKER FIRM HAFNIA HALTS ALL SOUTHERN RED SEA SHIPPING – bbg
• *TANKER OWNER TORM PAUSES ALL TRANSITS THROUGH SOUTHERN RED SEA - bbg