Asian refiners are actively seeking alternative shipping routes for Saudi crude oil, a direct response to the Houthis' declared naval blockade of Saudi Arabia and the resulting threats to shipping in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb Strait. This comes at a challenging time, as Saudi exports from Bab al-Mandeb had recently reached a record of over 4 million barrels per day. The proposed rerouting involves sending oil west from Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port of Yanbu, through the Suez Canal, and then around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa to reach Asia. This alternative path is significantly longer than the traditional eastward route across the Arabian Sea. For example, rerouting a cargo from Yanbu to South Korea via this method could extend the journey from approximately 24 days to roughly 54 days, an increase of about 30 days.
