TANKER traffic in the Red Sea was steady in December, despite the rerouting of many containerships on the Cape route to avoid missile and drone strikes from Yemen, Reuters reports.
A daily average of 76 tankers carrying oil and fuel were in the south Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in December, the area close to Yemen that has seen attacks.
November's average and just three below the average for the first 11 months of 2023, according to data from ship tracking service MariTrace.
Iran-backed Houthis forces, which hold the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, say they are targeting Israel-bound vessels, have largely attacked non-petroleum goods shipments.
But some oil companies like BP and Equinor are diverting cargo to the longer route. Also, increased shipping costs are likely to boost exports of US crude to some European buyers, experts said.
"We haven't really seen the interruption to tanker traffic that everyone was expecting," said Michelle Wiese Bockmann, a shipping analyst at Lloyd's List.
Several oil majors, refiners and trading houses have continued to use the Red Sea route, according to an analysis of LSEG data.
Oil tankers transiting the Red Sea carry Russian crude to India, but are considered safe because the Houthis have no interest in attacking.
Chevron "will continue to actively assess the safety of routes in the Red Sea and throughout the Middle East and make decisions based on the latest developments," a spokesman said.
BP and Equinor have paused all transits through the Red Sea and rerouted their vessels. Since the second half of December, at least 32 tankers have diverted or transited via the Cape.
The tankers that are diverting are mostly those chartered by companies who announced a pause on Red Sea movement, or those operated by US and Israel-linked entities.
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