Chinese Crude Carriers Navigate Bab el-Mandeb Strait

Two large crude carriers carrying 4 million barrels of Saudi oil are navigating the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The Singaporean vessel Xin Long Yang resumed its southward journey after a pause. The Cosnew Lake follows, with both ships carrying Chinese crews and managed by Cosco Shipping.

Two Chinese very large crude carriers, transporting a substantial 4 million barrels of Saudi Arabian oil, are on course towards the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, aiming to exit the Red Sea this Thursday, as per recently obtained shipping data.

The VLCC Xin Long Yang, bearing the Singaporean flag, executed a U-turn during its journey, taking a brief pause in the Red Sea on Tuesday. However, the vessel has since resumed its southbound voyage late Wednesday, according to LSEG shipping data.

Sailing past the Yemeni coast, the data indicates that both the Chinese-flagged VLCC Cosnew Lake and Xin Long Yang have Chinese crews on board, having loaded their crude consignments at Saudi Arabia's port of Yanbu earlier this week. Efforts to reach Cosco Shipping, the managing entity, have been unsuccessful.