Growing Armada of Tankers Seeks Hormuz-Bypass Oil From Red Sea

Bloomberg.com · last updated March 16, 2026 – 10:03 PM

A huge number of tankers are now waiting to collect oil from Saudi Arabia’s key port in the Red Sea as Riyadh ramps up its efforts to bypass the Strait of Hormuz after the vital waterway was effectively closed to shipping.

There were at least 27 crude carriers anchored close to two crude export facilities at the port of Yanbu on Monday, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. That’s up from 11 on Friday.

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