After the Strait of Hormuz disruptions, a fresh threat to the world’s oil supply has emerged with the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen announcing a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia. This has raised concerns over the movement of millions of barrels of crude oil that Saudi Arabia exports through the Red Sea.According to the group, the move is a response to what it describes as Saudi Arabia’s siege of Yemen’s capital, Sana’a. Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a video posted on his X account on Monday that the blockade on Saudi vessels would take effect immediately.Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fluctuated on Monday amid expectations of both further escalation and possible de-escalation in the conflict. As of 2:06 p.m. in London, it was trading 0.2% higher at $88.23 a barrel.
Bab el-Mandeb Strait: Key shipping chokepoint
Relations between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis have deteriorated since last week after Riyadh carried out an attack on Sana’a airport. The Houthis responded by striking an airport in southern Saudi Arabia, marking the most serious escalation between the two sides since the 2022 ceasefire.
Saudi Arabia’s crude exports face fresh threats
The development adds another layer of uncertainty to oil supplies from the Middle East. Shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz—through which nearly one-fifth of global oil supplies moved before the US-led conflict with Iran—remains close to a halt as Tehran and Washington continue exchanging retaliatory attacks. Any disruption to Red Sea shipments, currently the primary route for Saudi Arabia’s crude exports, would further intensify the impact of the conflict on global oil trade.Following the outbreak of the war and Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia rerouted its crude exports through the Red Sea port of Yanbu.
Saudi Crude Exports From Yanbu Are Up
Shipments from the port climbed to a record 4.19 million barrels per day last month, helping ease pressure on global supplies. However, the route remains vulnerable because tankers sailing through the Red Sea continue to face the threat of attacks from Houthi militants, who have targeted commercial vessels there in the past.In late 2023, the Houthis disrupted maritime traffic around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea for several months. Shipping through the strategic waterway was reduced to almost a standstill, forcing vessels to abandon the shortest maritime route linking Asia and Europe.
