8 minutes agoOil tanks head back to the Red Sea as the Huthites threaten commercial ships
Periskopi(2 hours ago)
(2 hours ago)Four ships that were headed towards the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea have turned back, while the Huthi rebels in Yemen threaten to impose blockades at another strategic point for oil transport, CNN reports.
The commercial intelligence company Kpler identified four <x0 literal returns to” on this waterway, connecting the Red Sea with the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, said in a statement released Wednesday.
Bab al-Mandeb has become an alternative of vital importance to the Hormuz Strait for Saudi oil exports. The boat has warned Saudi ships not to pass through this strait, which during the past month has been used to transport some 6.2 million barrels of oil per day, according to Kpler, or about 6% of the global oil supply. Most of that is Saudi oil.
Windward Intelligence, another marine analysis company, said on Tuesday that five oil tankers sailing towards the Bab al-Mandeb Strait have returned because of the Huthite threats, “4 of them carrying cargo originating from Saudi Arabia”.
According to Dan Pickering, director of investments in Pickering Energy Partners, a full blockade of Bab al-Mandeb could restore oil prices over $100 per barrel.
Read our report on how Bab al-Mandeb has become a new front of Iran's war.
