Shipping traffic slows in Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb after Houthis say they attacked Saudi tanker

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb plunged on Wednesday, with just three vessels crossing the key waterways as Houthi attacks and the Iran war disrupted regional trade. Kpler data showed two vessels transited Hormuz, down from eight a day earlier, and one in Bab el-Mandeb, down from 20. The Houthis claimed missile attacks on Saudi tankers, but Saudi Arabia did not confirm.

Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait dropped sharply on Wednesday, with only three vessels crossing the key maritime chokepoints, according to shipping data from Kpler. Two ships transited Hormuz, including a Panama-flagged coal carrier entering and a Marshall Islands-flagged vessel exiting, down from eight the previous day. In Bab el-Mandeb, only one Bahamas-flagged dry bulk carrier crossed, down from 20 the day before. The decline follows Houthi claims of missile attacks on Saudi oil tankers off Yanbu and in the Gulf of Aden, though Saudi Arabia has not confirmed. The Houthis have imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea since last month, citing a Saudi siege on Yemen, which Riyadh denies. Before the US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28, roughly 130 to 140 ships would typically transit Hormuz daily.