Saudi Arabia is starting to shift crude exports to its Red Sea hub at Yanbu as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz constrain Gulf shipments.

According to Kpler vessel-tracking data, about 10 million barrels of crude were loaded from the Red Sea’s Al-Muajjiz terminal in the first four days of March, implying a daily pace of roughly 2.5 million barrels.

The kingdom’s ability to reroute flows relies on the East-West pipeline, a roughly 750-mile system that transports crude from the eastern oil fields and processing centers near the Gulf to the Red Sea port of Yanbu on the west coast.

Kpler said at least three very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, in the Red Sea are signaling for Yanbu, including two waiting outside the port. Another four empty VLCCs are en route to Yanbu, with estimated arrivals between March 5 and 19.

State-controlled Saudi Aramco wasn’t immediately available for comment.

However, “the Red Sea system can only partially offset disruption in the Gulf,” analysts at Kpler said. “The Yanbu export terminals also operate at a smaller scale than Ras Tanura, limiting how much of the Kingdom’s export program can be redirected through the Red Sea system at any one time.”

While the East-West pipeline has a capacity of around 7 million barrels a day, Yanbu can load only about 4.3 million to 4.5 million barrels a day, according to the data provider. Saudi Arabia produced just over 10 million barrels a day of crude in February, the latest monthly report from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries showed.

The presence of the Iran-backed Houthi militants in the Red Sea, who severely disrupted shipping during the Israel-Hamas war, poses another risk.

Under normal conditions, Riyadh’s exports are heavily concentrated in the Middle East Gulf. Ras Tanura exported about 6 million barrels a day in the fourth quarter of last year, while Yanbu often handles below 1 million barrels a day, Kpler said.

The Ras Tanura loading terminal and refinery complex was hit by an Iranian drone on Wednesday, though officials said the strike caused no damage. The complex—the site of a major refinery and the world’s largest offshore oil-loading facility—was first attacked on Monday, temporarily halting operations after a drone strike sparked a small fire that was later contained, according to officials.