AdvertisementAdvertisementEast AsiaThis handout satellite image shows the oil infrastructure at Saudi Arabia's western Red Sea port of Yanbu on Mar 4, 2026. (Image: AFP/Planet Labs PBC)06 Apr 2026 05:49PM Bookmark Bookmark WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedInAdd CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results.Read a summary of this article on FAST.Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try.Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FASTFAST SEOUL: South Korea will send five Korean-flagged ships to the Saudi Arabian Red Sea port of Yanbu to help establish alternative oil supply routes to avoid the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, a ruling MP said on Monday (Apr 6).Oil prices have surged amid the United States-Israeli war on Iran, raising growth and inflation risks for South Korea, which relies on Middle Eastern crude for around 70 per cent of its imports.Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global crude oil and gas, in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes.The situation has prompted Seoul to prepare emergency measures, including a fuel price cap - the first such step since 1997."Korean-flagged vessels need to be dispatched to alternative routes" to secure crude supplies using export routes that bypass the strait, lawmaker Ahn Do-geol told reporters after a meeting with relevant agencies, including the energy ministry."We are pushing to deploy five South Korean-flagged vessels to Yanbu port in Saudi Arabia, in the Red Sea region," he said, without giving details.He said special envoys would also be sent to Saudi Arabia, Oman and Algeria to help secure additional crude supplies.Like other Asian economies, South Korea relies heavily on energy imports, including through the Strait of Hormuz, whose effective closure has driven up energy prices and rattled the global economy.The situation has prompted the government to propose a US$17.2 billion supplementary budget to cushion the economic impact, with President Lee Jae Myung warning that the economy is effectively on a "wartime footing".The country's energy ministry recently issued guidelines urging the public to conserve energy, including by taking shorter showers and charging mobile phones during daytime hours.South Korea asks Gulf nations for steady energy supply, safety of Korean vesselsCommentary: What South Korea’s belated participation in the ‘Hormuz coalition’ revealsSource: AFP/rlNewsletterWeek in ReviewSubscribe to our Chief Editor’s Week in ReviewOur chief editor shares analysis and picks of the week's biggest news every Saturday.NewsletterMorning BriefSubscribe to CNA’s Morning BriefAn automated curation of our top stories to start your day.Sign up for our newslettersGet our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inboxSubscribe hereGet the CNA appStay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best storiesDownload hereGet WhatsApp alertsJoin our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat appJoin hereAlso worth readingContent is loading...Expand to read the full storyGet bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try.Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FASTFAST