Saudi Arabia Restarts Crude Loadings at Major Gulf Terminal After Nearly Four-Month Halt

By Giulia Petroni

Saudi Arabia resumed crude loadings at Ras Tanura's Ju'aymah offshore terminal in the Persian Gulf, shipping-tracking data showed, after a nearly four-month halt during the Iran war that forced it to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and divert exports to the Red Sea.

Two supertankers on Thursday began loading crude at the terminal operated by state-controlled Saudi Aramco, while another was waiting offshore and could also be preparing to load, according to Kpler. Very Large Crude Carriers, or VLCC, can each carry around 2 million barrels of crude.

Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has picked up sharply after the U.S. and Iran signed an interim deal to end the conflict, with oil shipments through the waterway reaching their fastest pace since the war began in late February as producers prepare to restart production and restore exports.

Located on Saudi Arabia's Gulf coast, the Ras Tanura complex houses a major oil refinery and the world's largest offshore oil-loading facility, which typically handles most of the kingdom's shipments to Asian and European markets.

Ras Tanura exported about 6 million barrels a day in the final quarter of last year. Aramco was forced to halt operations at the terminal earlier this year following an Iranian attack and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, diverting exports via the East-West pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.

Write to Giulia Petroni at giulia.petroni@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 26, 2026 05:25 ET (09:25 GMT)