A supertanker has been sighted at Saudi Arabia's main oil export terminal in the Persian Gulf, the first such observation in nearly a month as the kingdom manages alternative shipping patterns following threats to Red Sea routes.
Satellite imagery from the European Union's Sentinel 2 orbiter, taken on Tuesday, shows a very large crude carrier (VLCC) moored at one of Ju'aymah's single-point moorings. The vessel's loading position at the Ras Tanura complex indicates it can take on roughly 2 million barrels of crude.
Images show the previous visible presence at that Ju'aymah mooring occurred in mid-July, although the available satellite coverage is not continuous on a daily basis. The sighting breaks a stretch in which few ships have been observed at the kingdom's Gulf terminals.
Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia expanded exports through the Persian Gulf when a short-lived interim agreement between the United States and Iran allowed tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz. Since that window, only a limited number of vessels have been seen calling at Gulf ports controlled by the kingdom.
Instead, Riyadh has moved millions of barrels a day through its Red Sea terminal at Yanbu. Monitoring flows through that route has become more challenging since Yemen's Houthi militants announced they would begin attacking Saudi-linked ships, prompting altered shipping decisions by the kingdom.
Riyadh told the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries that its crude output rose by just over 1 million barrels per day in July, although production remains well below levels seen before the war.
The Tuesday imagery also reveals a second tanker moored at the Ras Tanura sea island, located about 20 miles south of Ju'aymah. Based on the vessel's size in the images, it appears to be a Suezmax-class tanker, with an approximate capacity of 1 million barrels. This represents the second vessel spotted at that sea island this month; a smaller Aframax-class ship was observed there about a week earlier.
Contextual note - Satellite observations show intermittent activity at key Saudi export points as the kingdom balances Gulf loadings with alternative Red Sea shipments amid security concerns affecting tanker routes.