Shipping rates for Saudi crude from Yanbu have plummeted as more tankers arrive at the Red Sea port. The Sea Leopard, a 2011-built very large crude carrier, was fixed at 190 Worldscale points to transport a cargo to South Korea, down from rates exceeding 450 points just weeks ago.

Rates surged to over WS450 — equivalent to more than $450,000 per day — nearly two weeks ago when the Strait of Hormuz closure forced Saudi Arabia to redirect flows through Yanbu. The urgent need for both oil and tankers drove prices dramatically higher before cooling to around WS300 last week.

The port can only handle about four VLCCs at a time, yet nearly 40 tankers now wait in the area. Yanbu has allowed Saudi Arabia to revive roughly half of the shipments it would have sent through Hormuz, with exports reaching 4.19 million barrels per day last week before easing.