Gulf shipping traffic down after Houthis say they attacked Saudi tanker
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab-el-Mandeb strait has dropped significantly following reports of Houthi missile attacks on Saudi oil tankers. Data indicates a sharp decline in vessel transits as regional maritime security concerns escalate.
Why it matters
Disruptions in these critical maritime chokepoints threaten global energy supply chains and increase geopolitical instability in the Middle East.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, the key maritime chokepoints in the Gulf, reduced significantly on Wednesday (August 5, 2026) from the previous day, shipping data showed.
Just two vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz, including a Panama-flagged coal-laden carrier entering the waterway and another commodity Marshall Islands-flagged vessel exiting, shipping data from Kpler showed, down from eight vessels a day earlier. Roughly 130 to 140 ships would typically transit the waterway before the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28 and Iran responded by closing the strait.
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