Daijiworld Media Network - Dubai

Dubai, Jul 28: Ship traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait fell sharply on Sunday after Yemen's Houthi rebels attacked Saudi oil installations along the Red Sea coast, while vessel movement through the Strait of Hormuz remained subdued despite a pause in hostilities between the United States and Iran.

According to shipping data from Kpler released on Monday, only 11 commodity vessels passed through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Sunday, marking the lowest level of traffic in several months.

Maritime traffic in the Red Sea has been disrupted since last week as the Iran-backed Houthis intensified attacks off Yemen's coast in an effort to blockade Saudi exports, further escalating tensions in the region and adding to disruptions already affecting oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

The disruptions pushed prices of physical crude cargoes from the Middle East, Europe and Africa to their highest levels in two months last week.

Of the 11 vessels that transited Bab el-Mandeb on Sunday, seven were oil tankers. Three entered the Red Sea, including two very large crude carriers (VLCCs) bound for the Saudi port of Yanbu to load crude oil, while the third was identified as a Russian-linked vessel.

Four vessels exited the Red Sea, including the Hong Kong-flagged VLCC New Explorer, carrying two million barrels of Saudi and Emirati crude destined for Ningbo in eastern China. Another tanker carrying one million barrels of Russian crude was headed for China, while a third was transporting about 750,000 barrels of Saudi crude to Pakistan.

Another Hong Kong-flagged VLCC, New Pearl, carrying two million barrels of Saudi crude, was also reported to be leaving the Red Sea via the Bab el-Mandeb Strait for Zhoushan in eastern China. It is the fourth Chinese supertanker to depart since the Houthis announced a naval blockade.

Associated Maritime Hong Kong, the manager of New Explorer and New Pearl, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group carried out strikes on facilities belonging to Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco in the cities of Jizan and Yanbu on Saturday.

Meanwhile, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz also remained well below normal levels over the weekend.

Kpler data showed that fewer than 10 commodity vessels transited the strategic waterway each day. On Sunday, only seven vessels passed through, including three Iranian-linked oil product tankers that exited the Strait.

On Saturday, just three vessels were recorded transiting with their tracking transponders switched off. They included a VLCC heading to Qatar to load crude oil, a liquefied petroleum gas tanker bound for the UAE's Ruwais port, and a tanker carrying Qatari naphtha destined for Japan.

On Friday, seven vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz, most of them departing the Gulf, including two VLCCs transporting crude oil from Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, along with a tanker carrying fuel oil.