Red Sea shipping falls after Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia

Published Updated

Ship traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb strait has slowed following Houthi attacks on Saudi oil installations along the Red Sea coast and their announcement of a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia, Reuters reports, citing shipping data from analytics platform Kpler, according to AlJazeera.

Eleven commodity vessels passed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Sunday — the lowest level in months — according to the data. Seven of those vessels were oil tankers, with three entering the Red Sea and four exiting on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Kpler data also shows that fewer than 10 vessels per day passed through the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, despite the US and Iran pausing their attacks.

On Saturday, only three vessels passed through with their transponders switched off, while seven vessels transited on Sunday, including three Iranian-linked oil products tankers exiting the strait, according to the Reuters report.

 A view of a village on the coast of Bab el-Mandeb, Yemen on April 2, 2026. — Reuters/File
A view of a village on the coast of Bab el-Mandeb, Yemen on April 2, 2026. — Reuters/File

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