Data: Shipping Traffic in the Red Sea Declines After Houthi Attack on Saudi Arabia

SadaNews - Shipping data released by "Kpler" today, Monday, showed a decrease in ship movements in the Bab al-Mandab Strait yesterday, Sunday, after the Houthis launched attacks on Saudi oil facilities on the Red Sea coast, while transit rates through the Strait of Hormuz remained low at the beginning of this week.

The data indicated that 11 ships carrying raw materials passed through the Bab al-Mandab Strait yesterday, Sunday, marking the lowest level in months.

Shipping traffic in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen began to decline last week following Houthi interventions aimed at imposing a blockade on Saudi exports, exacerbating the conflict between the United States and Iran, which has already restricted oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

This disruption in shipping traffic has led to a spike in actual crude oil shipment prices in the Gulf, Europe, and Africa to their highest levels in two months in recent days.

Among the ships that passed through the Bab al-Mandab Strait were seven oil tankers, three of which entered the Red Sea. The data showed that two of them were very large crude carriers heading to the "Yanbu" port to load Saudi oil, while the third ship was linked to Russia.

The data also revealed that four ships left the Red Sea yesterday, Sunday, including the giant crude carrier "New Explorer" flying the Hong Kong flag, which was carrying two million barrels of Saudi and Emirati crude to the "Ningbo" port in eastern China, alongside another tanker carrying one million barrels of Russian crude to China, and another ship loaded with about 750,000 barrels of Saudi crude to Pakistan.

Another giant oil tanker, "New Pearl," which flies the Hong Kong flag and carries two million barrels of Saudi crude, is leaving the Red Sea via the Bab al-Mandab Strait on its way to the "Zhoushan" port in eastern China, being the fourth giant Chinese tanker to leave since the Houthis announced their maritime blockade.

The Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saree, stated that the group targeted on Saturday Saudi oil company "Aramco" sites in the cities of Jazan and Yanbu.

Strait of Hormuz

Data from "Kpler" tracking shipping movements showed that less than 10 ships carrying raw materials passed daily through the Strait of Hormuz at the beginning of this week, despite the suspension of strikes by the United States and Iran.

The data indicated that seven ships passed yesterday, Sunday, including three product tankers linked to Iran that left the strait.

On Saturday, only three ships passed, and their transponders were off.

These vessels included a giant oil tanker heading to Qatar to load oil, an LPG tanker heading to the Al Ruwais port in the UAE to load a shipment, and a tanker carrying a shipment of Qatari naphtha to Japan.

On Friday, seven ships passed, most of which were leaving the Gulf, including two giant oil tankers carrying crude from Iraq and the UAE, in addition to a tanker carrying a shipment of fuel oil.