Four Tanker Ships Heading to Bab al-Mandeb Strait Turn Around Due to Houthi Threat

JAKARTA - Four ships heading for the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea have turned back after Houthi rebels in Yemen threatened to block another important route for oil traffic.

Kpler, a trade intelligence company, identified four vessels turning around in the waterway connecting the Red Sea to the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, according to a statement on Wednesday, July 22.

The Bab al-Mandeb is a crucial alternative route for the Strait of Hormuz for Saudi Arabia's oil exports.

The Houthis group had previously warned Saudi ships not to cross the strait, which according to Kpler data has been a route for about 6.2 million barrels of oil per day over the past month, or about 6% of global oil supplies.

Most of the amount is oil from Saudi Arabia.

Windward Intelligence, another maritime analytics company, said on Tuesday, July 21, five tankers heading to the Bab al-Mandeb Strait turned back due to the Houthi threat, four of which were carrying cargo from Saudi Arabia.

A total blockade of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait could push oil prices back above $100 a barrel, according to Dan Pickering, Chief Investment Officer at Pickering Energy Partners.