Oil Tanker Hauling US Crude U-Turns in Red Sea to Dodge Houthis

An oil tanker hired by Norway’s Equinor ASA that came to a halt in the Red Sea six days ago — when Houthi militants stepped up attacks on merchant shipping — has performed a u-turn and is now sailing back toward the Suez Canal.

The Sonangol Cabinda is sailing north toward the Egyptian waterway at a speed of 13 knots, according to tanker tracking compiled by Bloomberg. Its dimensions, depth in the water, and prior movements indicate the tanker is holding about a million barrels of US crude.