U.S. Military Coordinates With Saudi Oil Tankers on Risky Hormuz Crossings

Saudi Arabia’s shipping giant Bahri has been sending oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz in coordination with the U.S. military, Khalid Alhammad, president of Bahri Ship Management, said on Tuesday.Saudi Arabia, while boosting loadings and exports out of its Red Sea port of Yanbu, is also looking to raise shipments from within the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz. The Saudi firm is working at the government level with the United States to support Hormuz transits, Alhammad said at a Dubai event, as carried by Bloomberg.Bahri and many other shippers have no choice but to brave the Strait of Hormuz and attempt to move oil to customers, according to the executive.“We have to keep moving the energy,” Alhammad said.Bahri last month reported a tenfold jump in net profit for the third quarter from a year earlier, amid surging tanker rates in the oil and shipping crisis. Compared to the second quarter, Bahri’s profit surged by 85%, the results showed, as the prolonged disruption at the Strait of Hormuz drove oil tanker rates to record highs at the end of the third quarter.Bahri, whose tankers export most of Saudi Arabia’s crude oil, saw its revenues rise across all business units, but the Bahri Oil unit outperformed all with a revenue jump of $3.2 billion (12 billion riyals) in the third quarter compared to the same quarter last year.Compared to the previous quarter, revenues at the Bahri Oil business unit jumped by $2.3 billion (8.6 billion riyals).“This was mainly driven by increased operational activities and higher global freight rates,” the Saudi shipping giant said.Several of Bahri’s vessels were affected by security incidents in the third quarter, including attacks that killed two crew members, Bahri’s CEO Ahmed Ali Al Subaey said in comments to the earnings release.“These events are a profound reminder of the conditions in which our seafarers operate and reinforce our responsibility to protect our people.”By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.comMore Top Reads From Oilprice.comBrent Crude Falls Below $90 for First Time Since AugustADNOC Gas Posts Stunning Profit Recovery as Energy Exports ReboundOil Prices Plunge Below $92 as Trump Signals Restraint on Iran