▲ The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the entrance to the Red Sea south of the Arabian Peninsula
As Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels intensify maritime attacks targeting Saudi Arabia, the volume of vessel traffic passing through the Red Sea has plummeted.
According to Reuters on the 26th local time, maritime analytics firm Kpler stated that 11 commodity-carrying vessels passed through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait the previous day, marking the lowest level in recent months.
Among them, seven were oil tankers.
The destinations of the four oil tankers that exited the Red Sea included China and Pakistan.
The Houthis declared a blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the entrance to the Red Sea, targeting Saudi crude oil exports on the 20th, and have since continued their attacks on vessels.
In particular, the Houthis claimed the previous day that they attacked facilities of Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Aramco.
Indeed, the Houthi attacks are having a negative impact on Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports.
As risks in the Strait of Hormuz increased, Saudi Arabia had been sending crude oil via its East-West Pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu and then exporting it to Asian markets through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
However, due to recent Houthi attacks, an increasing number of oil tankers are giving up on entering the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and are instead bypassing it via the Suez Canal or Africa's Cape of Good Hope.
According to vessel tracking firm Vortexa, maritime crude oil transport passing through the Suez Canal in July reached its highest level in two and a half years.
Crude oil flowing into the Sumed pipeline, which connects to the Suez Canal, also increased by 50% compared to the previous month.
Market watchers predict that if such detoured shipping operations become prolonged, it could lead to rising transportation costs along with additional upward pressure on international oil prices.
Gregory Brew, a senior energy analyst at Eurasia Group, said, "Saudi Arabia can still export crude oil, but transporting it to Asian markets will require significantly more time and cost, which will act as additional upward pressure on international oil prices."
Meanwhile, traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran declared a blockade on, also remains sluggish.
According to Kpler, commodity-carrying vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend fell short of 10 per day.
Although the United States and Iran temporarily halted airstrikes, vessel operations appear to have decreased as concerns over route safety persist.
On the 25th, only three vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz while operating with their Automatic Identification System (AIS) turned off.
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.