A number of Asian refineries are resisting Saudi Aramco’s request to take delivery of their oil at Yanbu port on the Red Sea coast. The reason is the difficulty of finding vessels willing to navigate through this dangerous waterway.

Based on a Bloomberg report citing traders, at least two Asian refineries have asked Aramco whether they can take delivery of their purchased cargoes instead from Sidy Kheir port in Egypt on the Mediterranean.

The request concerns cargoes that are set to be delivered in Shahrivar under long-term contracts with Aramco.

However, according to traders, at least one of these refineries may not take its monthly allocation in full, because transporting oil from Sidy Kheir and bypassing Africa to Asia costs more.