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LONDON, July 24 (Reuters) - The Danish-flagged oil products tanker Torm Innovation will sail to Asia via the Suez Canal with its cargo, the vessel's owner Torm said on Friday, following Houthi threats to shipping in the southern Red Sea.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis declared on Monday a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia, opening a potential new front against the U.S. in the Iran war and expanding the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf.
"Given the security situation in the southern part of the Red Sea, the vessel is sailing via the Suez (Canal) and around the Cape to Asia. This reflects our cautious approach to crew safety, which remains our highest priority," a Torm spokesperson said.
Torm had suspended transits through the southern part of the Red Sea since January 2024, and "only after careful case-by-case assessment we had a few vessels transiting this summer", the spokesperson said.
"We will continue to monitor the situation closely as it develops."
The Torm Innovation loaded a cargo of about 500,000 barrels of naphtha at the Saudi Red Sea port of Yanbu, with Japan as its destination, according to shipping data and trade sources.
The vessel was sailing through the northern Red Sea on Friday with its destination listed as the Suez Canal.
Critical fuel shipments to buyers in Asia through Suez are estimated to add another 30 days of journey time if voyages are unable to continue via the Bab el-Mandeb gateway in the southern Red Sea, which leads into the Gulf of Aden.
Closure of the Bab el-Mandeb would remove a critical alternative to the Strait of Hormuz for Saudi Arabia and heighten fears of shortages.
Red Sea traffic has not fully recovered since Houthi attacks off Yemen's coast began in November 2023 in what the group said was solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war. The group's attacks on merchant ships only ended with the Gaza ceasefire last October.
At least one Saudi tanker was attacked this week off the southern Saudi port of Jizan, near Yemen, and the Houthis claimed responsibility.
The earlier spate of Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping caused volumes transported through the Suez Canal to drop more than 50% since 2023 and last year they hit their lowest levels in at least 50 years, Suez Canal Authority data showed.
