China has opened direct channels with Yemen's Houthi movement to keep its tankers sailing through the southern Red Sea, six sources told Reuters, after the group pledged to prevent access to Saudi ports. Chinese officials have cleared each vessel individually with the Houthis, and Beijing wants oil exports from Saudi Arabia's Red Sea terminals to keep flowing. Two supertankers have already turned back out of the Gulf of Aden.
China has held direct talks with Yemen's Houthi movement to enable its tankers to sail through the southern Red Sea without being attacked, six sources with knowledge of the matter said, after the Iran-aligned militia pledged to prevent access to Saudi ports.
The Houthis declared their blockade on July 20, opening a new front against the U.S. and its allies in the Iran war and expanding attacks on tankers carrying energy and other supplies to markets beyond the Middle East. Beijing has asked the Houthis directly to promise safe passage for its tankers, according to the sources, who included a senior Iranian official.
Beijing clears vessels one at a time
China was among the first countries to contact the Houthis directly about transits through Bab el-Mandeb, the strait at the southern end of the Red Sea with Yemen on its eastern bank, said the sources, who declined to be identified. Chinese officials have cleared each vessel individually with the Houthis, one of the sources said, and both sides have informed Iran of their actions, two officials in the region briefed by Tehran said.
Beijing is seeking to keep oil exports flowing from Saudi Arabia's Red Sea terminals, notably Yanbu, to help plug the gap in supplies caused by Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz at the exit from the Gulf. At least four tankers have loaded crude from Saudi ports bound for China and transited Bab el-Mandeb since the Houthis announced their restrictions, according to Kpler analysis and LSEG and MarineTraffic ship-tracking data.
Two supertankers reverse course
By email, the Houthis have informed international shipping companies that vessels may be attacked if they load or discharge cargo at Saudi Arabian ports. Two separate Chinese trade sources said some tankers trying to enter the Red Sea through Bab el-Mandeb have changed course because of safety worries.
The New Champion and New Prime oil supertankers both sailed back out of the Gulf of Aden into open waters, according to analysis from Lloyd's List Intelligence and MarineTraffic ship-tracking data. The New Champion had been due to call at Yanbu to load oil, while the New Prime was already loaded, according to Kpler and other industry and ship-tracking data. Their operator, Hong Kong-based Associated Maritime, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sailing southward from Yanbu to Asia through Bab el-Mandeb takes 16 days on average. A ship that instead turns north for the Suez Canal and then sails west and south around Africa takes 50 days.
China calls for de-escalation
China's Foreign Ministry did not confirm the talks with the Houthis, saying instead that it is closely following developments in the Red Sea and that the sovereignty and security of countries in the region should be respected. Spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular press briefing on Wednesday that China calls on all relevant parties "to de-escalate the situation in the Red Sea". China's Transport Ministry, the Houthis' media office and Iran's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Houthis said last week they had carried out missile and drone strikes on two Saudi oil tankers, the Encelia and the Layla. Maritime security sources confirmed the strike on the Encelia, although Reuters could not immediately confirm the attack on the Layla.
Two sources close to the Houthis said the group has maintained good relations with China, with close coordination in the past on oil shipments to China from Saudi Arabia.
Source: Investing.com
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