Following the announcement of a blockade on Saudi supplies by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, two tankers carrying Saudi crude for Indian refiners have sailed "dark" out of the Red Sea through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Reuters reported.
Around July 20, the Aframax Rodos lifted 700,000 barrels of crude for Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. in Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port and momentarily turned north toward the Suez Canal, while the Suezmax tanker Amazon, chartered by Indian Oil Corp., loaded one million barrels of oil, as reported by the news agency.
But on July 22, Amazon and Rodos turned off their Automatic Identification System transponders, making it impossible for the public to follow their movements, and they moved south to cross the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and leave the Red Sea, the report added, citing sources.
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Since the blockade started, the tankers represent the first indication of ships transporting Saudi crude to India going dark by turning off their transponders, which the report claimed is standard procedure in conflict zones.
"The owner had shut the transponders on the vessels for safety purposes, and the vessels are now heading to India," one of the sources told Reuters.
According to the report, Amazon is likely to reach Chennai in early August, while Rodos is anticipated to arrive at Mangalore port on August 1.
Greece-based Dynacom Tankers is in charge of both ships.
After two other Dynacom ships, the Liberian-flagged VLCC Acheloos and the Malta-flagged Panamax-sized tanker Kavomaleas, were struck by missiles, the ships turned off their transponders.
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