Red Sea shipping drops after Houthi attacks on Saudi oil sites, data shows

Shipping traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait decreased significantly on Sunday following Houthi attacks on Saudi oil installations along the Red Sea coast. Data from Kpler showed only eleven commodity vessels transited the strait, the lowest in months, with seven being oil tankers. This disruption is attributed to Tehran-aligned Houthis aiming to blockade Saudi exports, escalating the US-Iran conflict. Concurrently, transit through the Strait of Hormuz remained low over the weekend, with fewer than ten commodity vessels passing daily, despite a pause in US-Iran strikes. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree stated the group struck Saudi Aramco sites in Jizan and Yanbu on Saturday.