Yemen and the Red Sea

Chinese VLCCs with Saudi crude exit Red Sea via Bab el-Mandeb under Houthi clearances

This version is a correction.

MOVEMENT
Location
Bab el-Mandeb Strait
Actors
Houthis · Saudi Arabia · United States
Importance
Major

Two Chinese-managed very large crude carriers carrying about four million barrels of Saudi oil exited the Red Sea through Bab el-Mandeb on 23 July, as industry analysts said Houthis granted COSCO-linked tankers ship-by-ship transit clearances despite the Saudi-port blockade.

Reuters ship-tracking reported Xin Long Yang and Cosnew Lake heading through Bab el-Mandeb with Saudi crude for China on 23 July 2026, after earlier U-turns when the Houthi blockade was announced. Newsweek, citing Lloyd’s List analyst Cichen Shen, reported that Chinese vessels appeared to retain partial safe passage and that Houthis issued clearances to COSCO on a ship-by-ship basis rather than a blanket exemption. China is not a seeded Red Sea theatre actor; participants stay within membership (Houthis as traffic-control initiator, Saudi Arabia as blockade target, United States as affected stakeholder). This package is selective Houthi enforcement allowing Chinese-linked Saudi cargoes, not a full reopening of Bab el-Mandeb.

  • Maritime: Best 2 vlcc_transits · Confidence: Confirmed · Evidence: Two Chinese supertankers with Saudi oil head to Bab el-Mandeb for Red Sea exit, Houthis Are Attacking Red Sea Ships But Letting China's Through · At least two Chinese VLCCs with ~4 million barrels Saudi crude reported exiting via Bab el-Mandeb on 23 July.

Verification: Probable

Evidence: Two Chinese supertankers with Saudi oil head to Bab el-Mandeb for Red Sea exit, Houthis Are Attacking Red Sea Ships But Letting China's Through

AIS transit multi-sourced via Reuters; ship-by-ship Houthi clearance framing via Newsweek/Lloyd’s List analysis, not a published Houthi treaty with Beijing.