Mideast-bound bauxite, alumina vessels divert due to Hormuz blockage

Ships carrying aluminum raw materials to the Middle East are changing course and making for new destinations as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz makes it impossible for them to complete their voyages as intended, vessel-tracking data shows.

The Middle East accounts for around 9% of global aluminum supply, and its smelters have been unable to export their metal or import the bauxite and alumina they need to keep producing since the US-Israeli attacks on Iran began on February 28.

Three bauxite carriers – the Richmond, the Glory Energy and the Penelope Oldendorff – were veering away from their intended destination of the United Arab Emirates, data from Kpler’s MarineTraffic.com platform showed on Monday. Their combined cargo sizes are 371,000 metric tons, according to LSEG data.

Bauxite ore is refined into alumina, which is then smelted to make aluminum used in the transport, construction and packaging industries. Emirates Global Aluminium has an alumina refinery at Al Taweelah near the UAE port of Khalifa and is the region’s main bauxite importer.

The Richmond left Freetown in Sierra Leone on January 24 bound for Khalifa but came to an abrupt halt off the coast of Oman in early March as the war escalated, LSEG data shows. It reversed course to move east towards India on Friday but has since stopped again, with its new destination unclear.

The Glory Energy and the Penelope Oldendorff, which both left Ghana in February, had been heading for the Gulf after coming up the coast of East Africa but have moved further east, suggesting they may be diverted to Asia.

Kpler’s lead metals analyst Ben Ayre said another vessel, the Alisios, had been taking bauxite from Amrun in Australia to the Gulf but was now heading north for China. The vessel, carrying 79,000 tons, was last east of the Philippines.

Reuters is seeking to identify the owners of the vessels to request comments.

Alumina available

Two vessels carrying alumina meant for the Gulf also appear to be changing course.

The Timorsun and the African Sanderling left Australia in February for the Bahraini port of Sitra, according to LSEG data. The African Sanderling was last off the coast of Sri Lanka, while the Timorsun was slightly further west.

Aluminium Bahrain, the kingdom’s sole aluminum smelter and which declared force majeure on its contracts last week, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(By Tom Daly and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Pratima Desai and Mark Potter)