An unidentified projectile caused a fire at Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port on 1 October, prompting the port authority to temporarily suspend loading operations involving a Liberian-flagged tanker before they resumed, according to Clearwater Dynamics.
The tanker’s master was the source of the alert, which was classified as an aerial attack and issued at 13:15. The vessel was not identified by name, and its owner, cargo and the type or origin of the projectile were not disclosed.
The incident came days after crude and refined-product loadings resumed at Yanbu following the restart of Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline. The pipeline had been shut after a drone attack on 11 September and returned to operation on 22 September.
By 29 September, crude was being loaded at Yanbu at about 2m barrels per day, while pipeline throughput was estimated at between 2m and 2.65m bpd. The pipeline has capacity of about 7m bpd. Satellite imagery from 27 September showed nearly 10m barrels of crude being loaded at Yanbu and the nearby Al Muajjiz terminal.
Saudi Aramco’s Yanbu complex comprises the Yanbu North Crude Terminal, Yanbu North Refined Product Terminal and Yanbu South Terminal. The North Crude Terminal has four loading berths and can handle vessels of up to 500,000 dwt. The East-West Pipeline runs about 1,200 km from Saudi Arabia’s eastern producing region to the Red Sea coast.
Clearwater Dynamics is a UK maritime technology company providing vessel tracking, maritime intelligence, IoT connectivity and risk-mitigation services.