Houthi Attack Cripples Shipping Through Bab El-Mandeb Strait

Shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait plummeted to its lowest level in months after Yemen's Houthi movement attacked Saudi oil facilities along the Red Sea coast.

The attack, which occurred on July 25, led to a sharp decline in commercial shipping through the strait, with only 11 commodity vessels transiting it on Sunday.

According to Kpler shipping data, seven of these vessels were oil tankers, including three very large crude carriers (VLCCs) bound for the Saudi port of Yanbu to load crude. Four other tankers exited the Red Sea that day, carrying a total of 6 million barrels of crude.

These disruptions have pushed prices for physical crude cargoes from the Middle East, Europe and Africa to their highest levels in two months last week.