Bab el-Mandeb: Saudi crude loadings cut roughly in half after Houthi attacks on Saudi-linked shipping — but the corridor stays open

Saudi crude exports through Bab el-Mandeb remain ongoing despite a marked decline in transit volumes following Houthi attacks.

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In the weeks before the Houthi attacks on the Saudi-linked tankers ENCELIA and LAYLA on 22 July, weekly crude transit volumes through Bab el-Mandeb from crude loaded at West Coast Saudi Arabia averaged around 3 million barrels a day, reflecting the steady cadence of Yanbu-loaded vessels moving south toward Asia. The strikes marked an escalation of the Houthi campaign explicitly targeting Saudi-linked shipping in the Red Sea.

Since 22 July and as of time of writing, confirmed crossings of Saudi-loaded crude from Yanbu have dropped to 6 vessels, together moving roughly 1.5 million barrels a day averaged across the six days since the attacks — a decline of close to 50% from the pre-attack weekly average. The drop is real and immediate, but it isn't a shutdown: Saudi-loaded cargoes are still transiting the strait, just at roughly half the throughput seen before the strikes.

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