SINGAPORE, July 27 (Reuters) – Ship traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait decreased on Sunday after Yemeni Houthis attacked Saudi oil facilities along the Red Sea coast. Meanwhile, traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remained low over the weekend, according to shipping data from Kpler released on Monday.
Only eleven commodity vessels passed through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Sunday, marking the lowest level in months.
Traffic in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen has been disrupted since last week due to the Houthis, who are aligned with Tehran and aim to block Saudi exports. This situation is intensifying the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, which has already affected oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
Out of the vessels that passed through Bab el-Mandeb, seven were oil tankers, with three entering the Red Sea. Two of these were very large crude carriers (VLCCs) heading to the port of Yanbu to load Saudi crude oil, while the third was linked to Russia.
The four vessels that left the Red Sea on Sunday included the Hong Kong-flagged VLCC New Explorer, which was carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi and Emirati crude to the port of Ningbo in eastern China. Additionally, there was a tanker with 1 million barrels of Russian crude heading for China, and another tanker carrying around 750,000 barrels of Saudi crude for Pakistan.
This marks the third Chinese VLCC to exit the Red Sea via the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Associated Maritime Hong Kong, the manager for the New Explorer, has not yet responded to requests for comments outside of office hours.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree stated that the group targeted sites owned by Saudi state oil company Aramco in the cities of Jizan and Yanbu on Saturday.
HORMUZ
Fewer than ten commodity vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz each day over the weekend, despite a pause in strikes by the U.S. and Iran in the Middle East, shipping data from Kpler indicated.
On Sunday, seven vessels transited the strait, including three oil product tankers linked to Iran that exited the area.
On Saturday, only three vessels passed through with their transponders turned off. These included a VLCC heading to Qatar to load oil, a liquefied petroleum gas tanker on its way to the Ruwais port in the UAE for loading, and a tanker carrying Qatari naphtha bound for Japan.
Seven vessels transited on Friday, most of which were leaving the Gulf. This included two VLCCs carrying crude oil from Iraq and the UAE, along with a tanker transporting fuel oil.