Red Sea ship traffic slumps following Houthi strikes on Saudi oil sites
Ship traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has significantly decreased after Yemeni Houthi forces attacked Saudi oil installations along the Red Sea coast. This disruption, alongside continued low transit in the Strait of Hormuz, is impacting global oil supply routes.
Why it matters
The attacks and subsequent shipping disruptions in critical maritime chokepoints pose a direct threat to global energy security and trade. This escalation of conflict in the Middle East could lead to higher oil prices and broader economic instability.
Ship traffic through Bab el-Mandeb fell on Sunday after Yemeni Houthis attacked Saudi oil installations along the Red Sea coast, while transit through the Strait of Hormuz stayed low over the weekend, shipping data from Kpler showed on Monday.Eleven commodity vessels passed through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Sunday, the lowest level in months, the data showed.Red Sea traffic has been disrupted off the coast of Yemen since last week by the Tehran-aligned Houthis, who want to blockade Saudi exports, expanding the US-Iran conflict that has already choked oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz.Seven of the vessels that passed through Bab el-Mandeb were oil tankers, with three of them entering the Red Sea.
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