Houthi Attack Slows Red Sea Shipping as Conflict Escalates
Disruptions in shipping traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb strait have been reported following a Houthi attack on Saudi oil installations along the Red Sea coast. According to data from Kpler, only eleven commodity vessels passed through the strait on Sunday (July 26), which is the lowest level in months.
The Houthi-led attacks are part of an ongoing conflict aimed at blockading Saudi exports and expanding the US-Iran conflict that has already restricted oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz. The Red Sea traffic disruption began last week, with seven vessels passing through Bab el-Mandeb on Sunday, including three oil tankers heading to the port of Yanbu to load Saudi crude.
Among the vessels exiting the Red Sea were a Hong Kong-flagged Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) carrying two million barrels of Saudi and Emirati crude for eastern China's Ningbo port, as well as a tanker with about 750,000 barrels of Saudi crude onboard for Pakistan. This is the third Chinese VLCC to exit the Red Sea via the Bab el-Mandeb strait.