{"id":131180,"date":"2026-08-13T17:32:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T12:32:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=131180"},"modified":"2026-08-13T17:32:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T12:32:08","slug":"saudi-oil-exports-go-dark-amid-houthi-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/131180\/","title":{"rendered":"Saudi oil exports \u2018go dark\u2019 amid Houthi threat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DUBAI(National Times)- Saudi crude exports from the Red Sea are increasingly vanishing from view as tankers switch off tracking signals to avoid attacks by Yemen\u2019s Houthis, with analysts saying all recent Yanbu loadings have been conducted \u201cdark\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Houthis declared a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/2016977\">maritime embargo&nbsp;<\/a>on Saudi Arabia on July 20, targeting the US and allies in the Iran conflict. They\u2019ve since claimed attacks on Saudi-linked tankers, Yanbu oil facilities, and Jazan refinery, leading vessels to turn off tracking signals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The increase in \u201cdark voyages\u201d is complicating the assessment of Houthi threat impacts on Saudi crude flows. Ship-tracking firms have produced widely differing export estimates \u2014 data used by the International Energy Agency, OPEC and traders to forecast market trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the week beginning Aug 3, data analytics firm Vortexa estimated Yanbu loadings fell to 2.38 million barrels per day from 2.71m the previous week. Kpler estimated a sharper drop to 1.78m bpd from 4.04m, while AXSMarine calculated a rise to 850,000 bpd from about 420,000 bpd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those trying to monitor shipments rely on a vessel reappearing on tracking systems once it has left the high-risk area, using satellite data to cross-check movements and fill in the gaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Vortexa\u2019s George Morris and Kpler\u2019s Nhway Khin Soe, recent Yanbu cargoes were loaded \u2018dark\u2019, meaning no AIS tracking was active, with about 70pc of Saudi west coast shipments lacking continuous AIS coverage since July 23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Houthi attacks have reduced traffic through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, with vessel numbers down to 32 from 50. Saudi Arabia is rerouting more oil via the Suez Canal or Egypt\u2019s SUMED pipeline, with Sidi Kerir loadings reaching a record 2.17m bpd, 90pc of which is Saudi crude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree to a permanent end to the war in the Gulf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There were no discussions to extend their ceasefire because, from Tehran\u2019s perspective, the deal had no start date, a senior Iranian source said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOne of the issues that is being discussed via mediators is the US returning to the interim agreement and defining a timeframe,\u201d the source said. \u201cThere has been absolutely no progress on this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both Iran and the US have stepped up rhetoric in the past two days. US President Donald Trump has<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/2022386\/trump-claims-us-has-total-control-over-strait-of-hormuz\">&nbsp;claimed&nbsp;<\/a>that the United States is in control of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe US has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I think we will keep it!\u201d he wrote on Truth Social. \u201cOur Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, a wall of steel, and there is nothing Iran can do about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, Iran\u2019s security official, Mohsen Rezaei, said the Strait of Hormuz would stay closed unless the US agreed to Iran\u2019s conditions to end the war.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DUBAI(National Times)- Saudi crude exports from the Red Sea are increasingly vanishing from view as tankers switch off tracking signals to avoid attacks by Yemen\u2019s Houthis, with analysts saying all recent Yanbu loadings have been conducted \u201cdark\u201d. The Houthis declared a&nbsp;maritime embargo&nbsp;on Saudi Arabia on July 20, targeting the US and allies in the Iran [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131181,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Saudi oil exports \u2018go dark\u2019 amid Houthi threat - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/131180\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Saudi oil exports \u2018go dark\u2019 amid Houthi threat - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"DUBAI(National Times)- Saudi crude exports from the Red Sea are increasingly vanishing from view as tankers switch off tracking signals to avoid attacks by Yemen\u2019s Houthis, with analysts saying all recent Yanbu loadings have been conducted \u201cdark\u201d. The Houthis declared a&nbsp;maritime embargo&nbsp;on Saudi Arabia on July 20, targeting the US and allies in the Iran [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/131180\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-13T12:32:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-13T12:32:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Untitled-design-13-4.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"670\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"370\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/131180\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/131180\/\",\"name\":\"Saudi oil exports \u2018go dark\u2019 amid Houthi threat - Nation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/131180\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/131180\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Untitled-design-13-4.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-13T12:32:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-13T12:32:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/131180\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/131180\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/131180\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Untitled-design-13-4.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Untitled-design-13-4.png\",\"width\":670,\"height\":370},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/131180\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Saudi oil exports \u2018go dark\u2019 amid Houthi threat\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/\",\"name\":\"Nation\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16\",\"name\":\"humza Jahangir\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"humza Jahangir\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/author\/humza\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Saudi oil exports \u2018go dark\u2019 amid Houthi threat - Nation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/131180\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Saudi oil exports \u2018go dark\u2019 amid Houthi threat - Nation","og_description":"DUBAI(National Times)- Saudi crude exports from the Red Sea are increasingly vanishing from view as tankers switch off tracking signals to avoid attacks by Yemen\u2019s Houthis, with analysts saying all recent Yanbu loadings have been conducted \u201cdark\u201d. The Houthis declared a&nbsp;maritime embargo&nbsp;on Saudi Arabia on July 20, targeting the US and allies in the Iran [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/131180\/","og_site_name":"Nation","article_published_time":"2026-08-13T12:32:07+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-13T12:32:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":670,"height":370,"url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Untitled-design-13-4.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"humza Jahangir","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"humza Jahangir","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/131180\/","url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/131180\/","name":"Saudi oil exports \u2018go dark\u2019 amid Houthi threat - Nation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/131180\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/131180\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Untitled-design-13-4.png","datePublished":"2026-08-13T12:32:07+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-13T12:32:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/131180\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/131180\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/131180\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Untitled-design-13-4.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Untitled-design-13-4.png","width":670,"height":370},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/131180\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Saudi oil exports \u2018go dark\u2019 amid Houthi threat"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/","name":"Nation","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16","name":"humza Jahangir","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"humza Jahangir"},"url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/author\/humza\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131180"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":131182,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131180\/revisions\/131182"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}