Singapore (TDI): Shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait slowed sharply after Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted Saudi oil facilities, while vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained unusually low despite a pause in direct US-Iran strikes, according to shipping data released by Kpler.
Only 11 commodity vessels passed through the Bab el-Mandeb on Sunday, marking the lowest daily traffic level in months.
The disruption follows Houthi attacks on Saudi targets along the Red Sea coast as the group seeks to blockade Saudi exports, raising concerns over global energy supplies and maritime security.
Of the vessels transiting the Bab el-Mandeb, seven were oil tankers, including two very large crude carriers (VLCCs) heading to Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port to load crude oil.
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Four tankers exited the Red Sea, including the Hong Kong-flagged VLCC New Explorer, carrying around 2 million barrels of Saudi and Emirati crude bound for China’s Ningbo port.
Another tanker transported approximately 750,000 barrels of Saudi crude destined for Pakistan, while a Russian-linked vessel carrying crude oil also sailed toward China.
A second Hong Kong-flagged VLCC, New Pearl, carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi crude, was also departing the Red Sea for Zhoushan, China, becoming the fourth Chinese supertanker to leave since the Houthis announced a naval blockade.
Meanwhile, shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz remained subdued, with fewer than 10 commodity vessels transiting the strategic waterway each day over the weekend.
Only seven vessels crossed the strait on Sunday, including three Iranian-linked oil product tankers departing the Gulf.
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On Saturday, just three vessels transited Hormuz, all with their tracking transponders switched off. These included a VLCC heading to Qatar, a liquefied petroleum gas tanker bound for the UAE’s Ruwais port, and a tanker carrying Qatari naphtha to Japan.
The continued slowdown in traffic through two of the world’s most important energy shipping routes has intensified concerns over global oil supplies and pushed physical crude prices in the Middle East, Europe and Africa to their highest levels in two months.
