A massive oil tanker bound for Asia carrying Saudi Arabian crude oil has left the longer and costlier route via the Suez Canal instead of passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Based on data from the company Kpler, the ship “Olympic Lac,” owned by Greek interests, entered the Mediterranean Sea from the Suez Canal on Sunday evening with a half-full cargo.

According to Bloomberg, this is likely the first giant tanker carrying Saudi oil that, after the announcement of a naval blockade by the Houthis, chooses the route of bypassing Africa in order to reach Asia.

Giant tankers with a capacity of two million barrels cannot pass through the Suez Canal with a full load. These vessels must unload about half of their cargo immediately to be transferred via a pipeline to Sidy Kheir in northern Egypt, and then the ship reloads after passing.

Another tanker, flying the flag of the Marshall Islands, is also on the verge of entering the Suez Canal; it loaded at the port of Yanbu, and its destination is a refinery in the Philippines.