Data from platforms tracking the movement of cargo ships over the past few weeks has revealed that Saudi Arabia has rerouted its shipping away from the Bab el-Mandeb in favour of Egyptian service companies linked to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, making Sisi the biggest beneficiary of the Yemeni sanctions imposed on Saudi maritime shipping.

The available data indicates that Saudi oil cargo ships follow the following procedures:

▪️Shipments are transported from the Saudi port of Yanbu to Ain Sokhna on Egypt’s Gulf of Suez.
▪️The oil is then unloaded into storage tanks at Ain Sokhna.
▪️The oil is then transported from the Ain Sokhna storage tanks to the port of Sidi Kerir via the SUMED pipeline, which is 320 kilometres long.
▪️Other tankers then load the oil from the port of Sidi Kerir for transport around the world.

Each of the above operations is managed by specialised companies linked to the Sisi family.