Bloomberg reported that on October 28, Bahri, the largest shipping and logistics services provider in Saudi Arabia, announced that, driven by soaring freight rates during the Iran war, the company posted a net profit of 5.1 billion riyals ($1.4 billion) in the third quarter—approximately 10 times the 513 million riyals reported in the same period last year. Revenue from its tanker business also increased roughly tenfold due to higher market rates and improved charter utilization.
In late February of this year, the US and Israel launched attacks against Iran, sparking a regional war that led to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. In recent months, oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz have come under attack, yet crude oil exports from the Gulf region have continued to rise.
Bahri CEO Ahmed Al Subaey stated in an announcement that several of the company’s vessels were attacked during this period, and two crew members were killed in the incidents. This regional conflict has created an “exceptionally complex operating environment.”
Bahri has long assisted Saudi Aramco, the Saudi national oil company, in expanding crude oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz. In September of this year, Saudi Arabia’s east-west oil pipeline was attacked and operations were briefly suspended; since then, Aramco has been attempting to regain market share by conducting ship-to-ship transfers outside the Strait of Hormuz, primarily to supply crude oil to Chinese buyers.
As more oil-producing countries export crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz—with some fleets evading detection through military escorts or by turning off their positioning signals—total crude oil exports from the Gulf region have recovered to levels close to those seen before the conflict.