Unknown Projectile Hits Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu Port, Causing Fire & Halting Tanker Loading

An unidentified projectile struck inside Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port on Oct. 1 and started a fire, according to maritime intelligence company Clearwater Dynamics.

The incident briefly stopped loading operations involving a Liberian-flagged tanker. The tanker’s master reported the incident at 13:15, and the alert was classified as an aerial attack. Loading later resumed.

The tanker was not identified. There was also no information about its owner or cargo. The type of projectile and where it came from are not known.

The reports provided no confirmation of casualties or the extent of damage to the port.

The incident came just days after oil loading at Yanbu resumed following the restart of Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline.

A drone attack on Sept. 11 had forced the pipeline to shut. It restarted on Sept. 22.

By Sept. 29, crude loading at Yanbu was running at about 2 million barrels per day. Pipeline throughput was estimated at between 2 million and 2.65 million bpd.

The pipeline can carry about 7 million bpd. It runs for around 1,200 km from Saudi Arabia’s eastern oil-producing region to the Red Sea coast.

Satellite images taken on Sept. 27 showed nearly 10 million barrels of crude being loaded at Yanbu and the nearby Al Muajjiz terminal.

Yanbu oil terminals

Yanbu is home to several major oil terminals operated by Saudi Aramco.

The complex includes 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 ships of up to 500,000 deadweight tonnes.

As per information, the Yanbu North Terminal has a crude loading capacity of around 1.5 million barrels per day.

The East-West Pipeline connects Saudi Arabia’s eastern oil-producing region with the Red Sea coast. Crude can therefore be moved towards Yanbu for export.

According to some reports, Yemen’s Houthis struck the Yanbu North Terminal. However, other reports describe the projectile as unidentified and say Saudi Aramco and Saudi port authorities have not publicly identified it or blamed any particular group.

The source material therefore does not confirm who was behind the incident.

The material also mentions a separate drone strike on the SAMREF refinery in Yanbu, a Saudi Aramco-ExxonMobil joint venture. It says damage was being assessed.

It also says Saudi authorities confirmed that another missile targeting the Yanbu area was intercepted and destroyed.

The information provided does not establish when those incidents happened or whether they were connected to the Oct. 1 port fire.

Clearwater Dynamics is a UK maritime technology company that provides vessel tracking, maritime intelligence, IoT connectivity and risk-mitigation services.

References: safety4sea, portnews