Following the disruption of shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia’s efforts to redirect its massive crude oil flows to alternative pathways are hitting capacity and security limits. The kingdom initially bypassed the Persian Gulf by routing supplies through the 7-million-barrel-per-day East-West Petroline to the western port of Yanbu. However, a blockade declared by Houthi forces in Yemen has turned the southern Red Sea into a highly hazardous zone, forcing Saudi tankers to seek alternative northward paths toward Egypt's infrastructure.

According to Oil & Gas 360, maritime tracking data highlights the extreme volatility of these transit shifts. In March, exports from Yanbu surged by 330% compared to pre-war levels, reaching 2.47 million barrels per day (bpd) and peaking above 4 million bpd in April. However, by June, loadings at the port fell to 2.39 million bpd as a brief geopolitical ceasefire collapsed and shipping activity inside the Strait of Hormuz remained a fraction of normal volumes. Recently, maritime intelligence firm Windward reported that multiple Saudi tankers have been operating in "dark mode"—turning off automatic identification systems—while loading at Yanbu or transiting toward Egyptian ports.

The tightening bottleneck leaves Saudi Arabia heavily reliant on the SUMED pipeline in Egypt, which transports crude from the Gulf of Suez to the Mediterranean. However, with a maximum capacity of 2.5 million bpd, SUMED cannot absorb the entirety of Saudi Arabia’s typical export volumes. This infrastructure limit, combined with recent drone strikes on energy assets in the region—such as those hitting LNG tankers at the Egyptian port of Damietta—indicates that the world's leading oil exporter is running out of secure options to keep its global supply lines open.