Oil refineries across Asia are facing a major challenge as the Yemeni Houthi movement’s threat to impose a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia forces oil buyers in China, India, South Korea, and Japan to seek alternative shipping routes that are significantly longer, more expensive, and could add more than a month to normal delivery times.
According to Reuters, the Houthis officially announced a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia on Monday, July 20, 2026, through emails sent to international shipping companies.
The Iran-backed armed group warned that any vessel loading or unloading cargo at Saudi Arabian ports could become a target of attack, regardless of its location.
The shipping industry’s response was immediate.
On Tuesday, July 21, 2026, two large oil tankers carrying Saudi crude reversed course in the Red Sea, even though no Houthi attacks had been carried out.
The Xin Long Yang, transporting 2 million barrels of crude oil to China, turned back toward the Suez Canal.
Meanwhile, the Rodos, carrying 700,000 barrels bound for India, also altered its route.
The rerouting is more than just a matter of distance.
South Korea’s Hyundai Oilbank moved quickly to secure alternative transportation by seeking very large crude carriers (VLCCs) capable of transporting millions of barrels from Yanbu Port, using a combination of the Suez Canal and Egypt’s SUMED pipeline.
However, there is a significant technical challenge.
Fully loaded VLCCs cannot transit the Suez Canal because of the canal’s depth restrictions.
The solution involves offloading part of the cargo through the SUMED pipeline before allowing the lighter vessel to pass through the canal, after which the cargo is reloaded on the Mediterranean side.
According to Baird Maritime, Matt Smith, Director of Commodity Research at Kpler, said Asian refineries could face supply delays of up to one month if tankers are forced to sail around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope.
“The impact will be enormous during the first month,” Smith said. “Saudi oil flows will be affected the most.”
The figures are concerning.
Based on Kpler data, Saudi Arabia has shipped an average of more than 4.5 million barrels of oil per day from Yanbu since April 2026, with approximately 70 percent of those exports destined for Asian markets.
More than 3 million barrels per day could be forced onto much longer shipping routes.
The situation is becoming increasingly complicated because alternative routes are already operating under severe constraints.
The Suez Canal cannot accommodate all fully loaded supertankers, while the capacity of the SUMED pipeline, which connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, is also limited.
The combination of Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the Houthi threat to blockade the Bab el-Mandeb Strait now places approximately 22 percent of the global oil supply at risk simultaneously.
John Paisie, President of consulting firm Stratas Advisors, warned of broader consequences.
If Saudi oil shipments through the Red Sea are significantly disrupted, the impact will extend beyond crude oil markets to refined fuel prices and could ultimately place additional pressure on the global economy.
As an oil-importing nation, Indonesia is among the countries that need to remain alert to the potential for rising energy prices resulting from disruptions to global supply routes.***
