Houthi Attacks Disrupt 12% of Global Oil Shipments
Yemen’s pro-Iranian Houthi rebels have claimed attacks in the Red Sea on two Saudi oil tankers and say they will blockade the Bab Al Mandeb Strait, a crucial passage into the Red Sea, as part of a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that 12 percent of world oil shipments transit the strait, making it a key route for oil shipments. Shipping companies, including those affected by the blockade, are being forced to re-route their vessels, causing significant disruptions to global oil supplies.
The Bab Al Mandeb Strait is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, with the Red Sea being a key link between Europe and Asia. Oil tankers and cargo ships use the strait to reach the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean, shortening journeys between Asia and Europe and North America by thousands of kilometers. However, attacks by the Houthis linked to the Gaza war have caused shipping to drop dramatically, with Suez Canal transits falling from 26,000 ships in 2023 to 12,700 by 2025.
The strait, known as the “Gate of Tears” in Arabic, sits at the southern tip of the Red Sea, connecting it with the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean. It separates Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula from Djibouti and Eritrea on the Horn of Africa. The Houthi rebels have previously attacked shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden during the Gaza war, saying they were attacking ships linked to Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians.
Bridget Diakun of Lloyd’s List Intelligence predicts that while the closure of Hormuz had driven traffic to Bab Al Mandeb, this would now stop. The attacks prompted the United States and Britain to bomb Yemen and the European Union to launch Operation Aspides to protect shipping. Traffic through the strait has not returned to its 2023 levels, but since January 2025, major shipping companies had begun “testing the waters and sending vessels through,” according to Diakun.
This development is connected to the prior reduction in Suez Canal transits, which fell by over 50% since 2023 due to Red Sea attacks. The Bab Al Mandeb Strait’s importance has been ramped up once again due to Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, making it a critical chokepoint for global maritime traffic.
