Bab el-Mandeb Shipping Disrupted After Houthi Gains on Red Sea Coast
Saudi exports through the strait run at under a third of this year's seven-day average since early August.
Published
Map: The Red Sea, marking Bab el Mandeb, Jeddah, Yanbu, Abqaiq
Traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb strait has been disrupted following recent Houthi gains along the Red Sea coast. Saudi exports moving through the route have fallen to under a third of this year's seven-day average since the start of August.
The disruption follows a string of attacks in the region. Sirens sounded in Jeddah after a projectile was reportedly fired at the city, halting flights there. That strike came days after a Houthi drone attack killed one person in Saudi Arabia, and amid Omani-mediated truce talks. Separately, three oil pump stations on Saudi Arabia's east-west pipeline were hit in an earlier attack. Saudi Arabia has since moved to restore about half of that pipeline's capacity, with full restoration expected in six weeks.
Saudi Arabia has also cancelled all October crude shipments to European refiners.
The combination marks a material escalation from the disruptions of recent weeks. Bab el-Mandeb traffic running at under a third of August's baseline, alongside Saudi production constraints and the cancelled European shipments, tightens global oil supply more than markets have priced in. Energy prices are rallying hard on the news, but the durability of the constraint, and the risk of further Houthi action, keep the bearish case intact until diplomatic efforts produce a credible ceasefire.