Tanker traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait fell to its lowest level in several months on Sunday as attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels continued to disrupt shipping along one of the world’s busiest oil trade routes.
According to vessel-tracking data from Kpler, cited by Reuters, only 11 commodity tankers transited the strategic waterway linking the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea on Sunday, marking a sharp decline in vessel movements.
The slowdown follows a week of escalating attacks by the Houthis after the group announced a blockade on Saudi oil shipments and threatened to target vessels linked to the kingdom.
Last week, the rebels attacked two Saudi oil tankers, prompting some shipping companies to alter their routes. Several Saudi and international operators diverted vessels north through the Red Sea towards the Suez Canal. In contrast, others aborted planned voyages into the Red Sea by turning back before reaching the
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