Gulf Shipping Traffic Falls After Houthis Attack Saudi Tanker
Gulf Shipping Traffic Drops Sharply After Houthi Attack on Saudi Tanker
Significant Reduction in Maritime Traffic Through Key Gulf Chokepoints
NEW DELHI, Aug 6 (Reuters) – Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, the key maritime chokepoints in the Gulf, reduced significantly on Wednesday from the previous day, shipping data showed.
Strait of Hormuz: Vessel Movements Plummet
Just two vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz, including a Panama-flagged coal-laden carrier entering the waterway and another commodity Marshall Islands-flagged vessel exiting, shipping data from Kpler showed, down from eight vessels a day earlier.
Pre-Conflict Shipping Volumes
Roughly 130 to 140 ships would typically transit the waterway before the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28 and Iran responded by closing the strait.
Bab el-Mandeb: Shipping Activity Nearly Halted
In the Bab el-Mandeb, only one commodity vessel, a Bahamas-flagged dry bulk carrier, crossed the strait on Wednesday, Kpler data showed, down from 20 the previous day.
Houthi Missile Attacks and Naval Blockade
Details of the Attacks
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Wednesday they had launched a missile attack on a Saudi oil tanker off the coast of the kingdom’s Red Sea port city of Yanbu and another missile attack on a Saudi oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden.
Saudi Response
There was no confirmation from Saudi Arabia on either incident.
Houthi-Imposed Naval Blockade
The Houthis have imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea since last month in response to what they described as a Saudi siege on Yemen, an allegation Riyadh has denied.
(Reporting by Mohi Narayan; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
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