Saudi Aramco resumes oil shipments through Strait of Hormuz
Saudi Aramco has restarted oil loadings at Strait of Hormuz terminals after a three-week halt, shipping two million barrels each on three Malaysian, Algerian and Singapore-flagged VLCCs last week.
Source: Utusan Malaysia · August 19, 2026 at 3:30 PM · AI-assisted report
Single-sourceSINGAPORE, 19 AUGUST 2026 —
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Saudi Aramco has restarted oil loadings at Strait of Hormuz terminals after a three-week halt, shipping two million barrels each on three Malaysian, Algerian and Singapore-flagged VLCCs last week.
Market Impact
Vessels Malaysia Prosperity, Algeria Prosperity and Singapore Prosperity lifted crude from Juaymah and Ras Tanura between Aug 12 and Aug 16, according to ship-tracking data from Vortexa and Kpler cited by Reuters. The cargoes were offered to Asian refiners for ship-to-ship transfer off Fujairah, UAE, on Monday, the company said in a tender seen by Reuters.
Loadings had been suspended following attacks on Saudi tankers in Hormuz amid heightened U.S.-Iran tensions, tightening global supplies of heavy crude used for shipping fuel and feedstock for gasoline and diesel. Kpler data shows at least six additional VLCCs are scheduled to load Saudi crude through Hormuz by month-end.
Saudi Aramco is also diverting volumes to Egypt’s Sidi Kerir terminal on the Mediterranean as an alternative route, but throughput remains far below the roughly four million barrels a day previously handled at Yanbu during Red Sea restrictions imposed by Yemen’s Houthi group. Higher freight costs and longer voyages have further dampened buyer interest, traders said.
Saudi tanker operator Bahri had seven VLCCs anchored off UAE and Oman and two more en route to Fujairah on Tuesday, according to LSEG ship-position data. Aramco and Sinokor, the owner of the loaded VLCCs, declined to comment.
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