The ship used an alternative route to the strait, which remains subject to navigation restrictions imposed by Iran
A supertanker owned by a Chinese state-owned company is sailing toward China with Saudi crude oil loaded at a Red Sea port, marking the first such shipment to bypass the Strait of Hormuz since conflict in the Middle East made that key waterway dangerous for navigation.
The Kai Jing, a VLCC (large oil tanker) operated by , listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, passed through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the early hours of Monday (16.Mar.2026) and is expected to deliver 2.2 million barrels of crude oil to the port of Meizhouwan, in Fujian province, in early April.
The tanker was originally scheduled to load crude oil in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, on March 3, but was forced to change its route to the Saudi Red Sea port of Yanbu after an Iranian attack on Fujairah disrupted the plan.
The rerouting of Chinese oil tankers to avoid the Strait of Hormuz signals a significant adjustment in oil transport logistics as regional tensions rise. After Kai Jing, more than 10 other VLCCs from China Merchants and COSCO Shipping Group are on their way to Yanbu. However, this change is creating new bottlenecks, and alternative routes can only partially compensate for the loss of capacity, highlighting the fragility of global energy supply chains.
A race for Yanbu
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has turned Yanbu into the main alternative port for Gulf oil exports, attracting a global rush of tankers. On Sunday alone (March 15), almost 80 oil tankers of various sizes were on their way to Yanbu, with 14 loading simultaneously, according to calculations by .
This flow has led to increasing congestion. On Monday (16 March), the average operating time in Yanbu reached 51 hours, with the longest exceeding 70 hours, according to data from a digital platform from .
The average time an oil tanker remained in port was over 60 hours. For example, COSCO’s VLCC vessel Xin Xian Feng took 54 hours to load – much longer than the average of approximately 15 hours at other international terminals.
A person from a Chinese oil shipping company told Caixin that inefficiency is primarily due to pipeline supply constraints to the port rather than the capacity of the port itself.
is maximizing the operation of its East-West Pipeline to ensure supply. The pipeline has a capacity of nearly 7 million barrels per day, with 5 million barrels per day earmarked for export via Yanbu, Saudi Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser said on March 10.
Loading volumes at Yanbu increased from about 1.1 million barrels per day in February to nearly 3 million barrels per day on March 12, according to international shipping consultancies.
Despite the search for alternatives, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz entails significant capacity constraints. Before the conflict, Persian Gulf countries, excluding Iran, exported an average of 13.3 million barrels per day through the strait in 2025, according to S&P Global and the International Energy Agency.
Recent analysis estimates that Yanbu could add about 3.5 million barrels per day to export capacity, while the UAE port of Fujairah and ports in Oman could together add 2 million barrels per day.
In total, these overland pipeline routes could represent just over 5 million barrels per day — about 40% to 50% of the non-Iranian volume previously transported through the strait.
“Although the replacement volume is limited, it is not as if there is not a single drop of oil to be exported”said a source in the crude oil marketing industry.
“As these alternative ports begin to operate at full capacity, the international market will gradually adapt and alternative supply from markets such as Brazil, the Gulf of Mexico and West Africa will also increase”he declared.
Increasing risks in the Strait of Hormuz
Chinese ships are no exception to the growing risks in the Strait of Hormuz. On March 11, the Chinese bulk carrier Run Chen 2 became the first Chinese ship to successfully pass through the strait after its de facto closure on March 1, briefly fueling Chinese operators’ hopes that traffic could begin to normalize.
These expectations were quickly dashed. On March 12, a cargo ship marked “All Chinese Crew” was attacked by a drone while transiting the strait, triggering a sharp drop in Chinese ship traffic through the waterway.
An executive at a Chinese shipping company said the practice of displaying such identifiers — previously adopted even by some foreign shipowners in hopes of deterring attacks — no longer appears to offer significant protection. From March 13 to 16, only 1 Chinese-owned ship passed through the strait.
Meanwhile, insurers are beefing up their risk insurance policies. “Since March 12, insurers have stopped offering war risk coverage to Chinese-owned vessels planning to cross the strait.”an executive from a Chinese shipping company told Caixin.
The security situation at ports near the waterway also remains highly unstable, making Yanbu the most viable alternative for now, multiple Chinese shipping industry sources said.
On Monday (16 March), several large Chinese vessels remained stuck in the Persian Gulf, with no immediate plans to cross the strait. These include 2 ultra-large container ships from COSCO Shipping – the CSCL Arctic Ocean and the CSCL Indian Ocean – as well as 3 of its VLCCs and several smaller tankers. Two foreign-owned VLCCs, KIDAN and Verona, which carried crude oil bound for China, were also stranded in the Gulf.
Although many Chinese vessels retreated, ships from India and Pakistan accounted for much of the remaining traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. In recent days, 2 large LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) merchant ships and 1 large oil tanker have successfully left the Persian Gulf through the strait.
An industry source said India and Pakistan may have negotiated the passage with Iran on a case-by-case basis. Iran relies heavily on imports of food and animal feed from both countries, which creates a possible advantage for an agreement to exchange goods through the crossing.
India is also in a new round of emergency talks with Iran to ensure the safe passage of its ships, the report said. Reuters on March 13th. Around 20 Indian oil tankers remain near the Strait of Hormuz.
