Ship Traffic Falls After Houthi Attacks on Saudi Oil Sites

Ship traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait fell sharply on Sunday after Yemeni Houthis attacked Saudi oil facilities along the Red Sea coast.

At the same time, only a limited number of vessels continued to pass through the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.

According to data from Kpler, just 11 commodity vessels passed through Bab el-Mandeb on Sunday, the lowest number in months. The Iran-backed Houthis are seeking to blockade Saudi exports, widening the fallout from the conflict between the US and Iran.

Last week’s disruption to shipping sent prices for physical crude cargoes from the Middle East, Europe and Africa to two-month highs.

Seven of the vessels passing through the strait were oil tankers, three of them entering the Red Sea. Two very large crude carriers were heading to the Saudi port of Yanbu to load oil, while the third vessel was linked to Russia. Among the ships leaving the Red Sea were tankers carrying Saudi, Emirati and Russian oil bound for China and Pakistan.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had attacked Aramco facilities in Jizan and Yanbu on Saturday.

Fewer than 10 commodity vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz each day over the weekend, even though the US and Iran had paused their attacks. Seven ships transited on Sunday and only three on Saturday, all with their identification transponders switched off.

(Reuters, bak)