The global energy market is on high alert following the announcement by Yemen's pro-Iranian Houthi rebels on July 20 (local time) of a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia, raising concerns over the potential impact on international supply chains for crude oil and petroleum products. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed to traffic, there are growing fears that any disruption to shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the gateway to the Red Sea, would exacerbate economic damage, particularly for East Asian nations like South Korea that are heavily dependent on Middle Eastern crude oil. According to shipping data firm Kpler, cited by Reuters, the volume of petroleum products passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in June reached 7.4 million barrels per day, accounting for approximately 7% of global crude oil production. As recently as last year, the volume passing through this strait was 4.2 million barrels per day, a level not considered a critical bottleneck for global energy transport. However, after the Strait of Hormuz, which handles 20% of global energy traffic, was closed following the U.S.-Iran war, Saudi Arabia increased its crude oil exports through the Red Sea port of Yanbu using trans-continental pipelines, thereby increasing its reliance on the Bab el-Mandeb shipping route. In fact, the volume of energy exports through the Saudi port of Yanbu has reached an average of 4 million barrels per day, a significant increase from 973,000 barrels per day a year ago. Energy exports diverted to the Red Sea via the port of Yanbu are credited with serving as a lifeline for Middle Eastern energy supplies during the U.S.-Iran war, helping to curb the rise in international oil prices. Major importers of petroleum products departing from the port of Yanbu have included Asian countries such as South Korea, Japan, China, Singapore, and India. Noam Raydan, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a U.S. think tank, assessed in the New York Times (NYT) that Asian countries could suffer the most if the Houthi rebels proceed with a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia. Raydan analyzed that if the blockade becomes a reality, ships would have to divert their routes through the Suez Canal, adding, "This will add a greater burden to shipping costs." Furthermore, the impact of the blockade could extend beyond Asia to the global energy market as a whole. In fact, after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, major Asian countries, faced with blocked energy imports from the Middle East, competitively secured alternative energy supply lines, which led to a simultaneous rise in global energy prices. Beyond the impact on energy supply, the possibility of general disruptions to maritime transport through the Red Sea has also increased. Reuters reported on this day, citing sources in the insurance industry, that insurance premiums for shipping goods through the Red Sea have already risen since the Houthi rebels announced the naval blockade against Saudi Arabia. The war risk premium for ships passing through the Red Sea reportedly jumped from about 0.3% on July 17 to about 0.75% following the Houthi rebels' announcement of the blockade. However, Reuters pointed out that it remains unclear how the Houthi rebels will implement a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia, or whether this declaration will lead to a resumption of attacks on ships sailing in the Red Sea. The Houthi rebels have previously attacked merchant ships passing through the Red Sea, demanding an end to Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip in Palestine. These attacks caused serious disruptions to global maritime transport, and major global shipping companies had to choose routes around Africa, which have much longer transit times, instead of the Red Sea route passing through the Suez Canal. Even after the Houthi rebels halted their attacks, global shipping lines continued to use the detour around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa instead of the Red Sea route, and the number of ships passing through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal remains significantly lower than before the outbreak of the Gaza war. The Houthi rebels have warned since the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran war that they could block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait depending on how the war situation unfolds. In fact, the Houthi rebels also declared in June that they would block the passage of Israeli ships in the Red Sea. However, Reuters reported that this declaration did not lead to actual implementation. The crude oil market is watching the situation closely, believing that there is still a possibility of a diplomatic solution between the U.S. and Iran. On this day, the closing price for Brent crude oil futures for September delivery at the ICE Futures Exchange was $89.22 per barrel, up 1.27% from the previous session. As the Iranian side stated that diplomatic contacts are underway with the U.S. behind the scenes, oil prices pared some of their gains from the intraday high.