Red Sea tanker strikes and a Saudi shipping embargo squeeze oil routes

Houthis claimed attacks on two Saudi oil tankers as the US continued strikes on Iran, with the Strait of Hormuz reported closed.

Yemen's Houthis said they attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, naming them the Encelia and the Layla, as the US launched its 12th consecutive night of strikes on Iran. The Saudi Press Agency confirmed the Encelia was struck, causing a bow fire, with all crew safe. UK Maritime Trade Operation reported a projectile struck a Saudi tanker about 130km from Al Shuqaiq with no casualties.

The attacks follow a Houthi maritime embargo declared Monday against Saudi Arabia, closing the Bab al-Mandab Strait to Saudi vessels. At least seven oil tankers have made U-turns near Yemen since it began. Separately, Iran's Revolutionary Guard said the Strait of Hormuz was completely closed after an explosion and stopped three oil tankers. Iranian state media reported two people killed in US strikes on Wednesday.

These are two of the world's most important oil chokepoints. When tankers reroute or halt, shipping costs and insurance rise, and those costs flow into fuel and, downstream, into the price of food and goods that move by sea. This is a setback for cheap, dependable energy — the friction runs the wrong direction.

Much here is contested. Houthi responsibility for the attacks has not been independently confirmed, and the strike on the Layla is unconfirmed. UKMTO described the projectile as unknown, and some details come from Iranian state media. A June US-Iran memorandum to halt operations and reopen Hormuz within 60 days appears to have collapsed. Watch whether the chokepoint closures persist.

Source: BBC World