Bahri, Saudi Arabia's largest shipping and logistics provider, posted a third-quarter net profit of 5.1 billion riyals ($1.4 billion), about 10 times the 513 million riyals reported a year earlier, driven by soaring freight rates during the Iran war. Tanker revenue also rose roughly tenfold on higher market rates and improved charter utilization. CEO Ahmed Al Subaey said several company vessels were attacked and two crew members were killed, describing an exceptionally complex operating environment. The conflict, which began with US and Israeli attacks on Iran in late February, led to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
According to imarinenews.com, Bahri, Saudi Arabia’s largest shipping and logistics services provider, reported a third-quarter net profit of 5.1 billion riyals ($1.4 billion), roughly 10 times the 513 million riyals posted in the same period last year, as war-driven freight rates lifted its tanker business.
Tanker revenue climbs roughly tenfold
The profit surge, announced on October 28, was matched by the company’s tanker segment, where revenue also increased about tenfold. Bahri attributed the gain to higher market rates and improved charter utilization during the quarter.
The results land in an exceptionally volatile period for Gulf shipping. 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, the waterway through which much of the region’s crude oil moves.
In recent months, oil tankers passing through the strait have come under attack, yet crude oil exports from the Gulf region have continued to rise, according to the report. That combination of elevated risk and resilient volumes has pushed freight rates sharply higher.
Vessels attacked, two crew members killed
The conflict has come at a direct human cost to Bahri. CEO Ahmed Al Subaey said in the announcement that several of the company’s vessels were attacked during this period and that two crew members were killed in the incidents.
“An exceptionally complex operating environment.” — Ahmed Al Subaey, CEO of Bahri
Bahri has long assisted Saudi Aramco, the Saudi national oil company, in expanding crude oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz, placing it at the center of the region’s export logistics.
Aramco turns to ship-to-ship transfers
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.
More oil-producing countries are now exporting crude through the strait, with some fleets evading detection through military escorts or by turning off their positioning signals, according to the report. Total crude oil exports from the Gulf region have recovered to levels close to those seen before the conflict.
For Bahri, the quarter illustrates how conflict risk and freight economics have become intertwined: the same disruptions that exposed its crews to attack also drove the $1.4 billion quarterly profit and the roughly tenfold revenue increase in its tanker business.
Source: imarinenews.com
Compiled from international media by the SCI.AI editorial team.
