Six Saudi-flagged very large crude carriers (VLCCs) sailing in ballast have turned away from the Bab el-Mandeb route and are heading south through the Indian Ocean, ship-tracking platform MarineTraffic said Tuesday, Anadolu reports.
MarineTraffic wrote on US social media platform X that the first Automatic Identification System (AIS) destination changes for five of the six vessels were recorded July 30 as the tankers continued southward.
The Ghinah and Laynah updated their destinations to Durban, South Africa, while the Burqan initially signaled Durban before switching to Algoa Bay and later Port Elizabeth.
The Dilam and Hazm initially listed Gibraltar as their destinations. The Hazm subsequently changed its destination to Durban at 2220GMT on July 31, according to the platform.
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