There have been significant declines in the Middle East's exports of crude oil and petroleum products in the last week due to intensified attacks on commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz and concerns about ship passage in the Red Sea after the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen increased their attacks on Saudi Arabia.
While the conflicts between government forces and the Houthis in Yemen have recently intensified, the Iranian-backed Houthis are targeting Saudi Arabia with ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, claiming that they are being attacked.
Iran, which has greatly restricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz due to the war that started with the attacks of the USA and Israel on Iran on February 28 and the subsequent naval blockade imposed by the USA, continues to target ships that want to pass through the strait without permission.
Attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz have reached their highest level this year in the last week.
According to data from UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) and international maritime security sources, at least 14 attacks, attempted attacks and obstruction cases were recorded in and around the Strait of Hormuz between 5-12 October. Only on October 12, 6 ships were attacked in the Bosphorus.
The sharp decline in oil, petroleum products and liquefied natural gas exports from the region after the war, which started with the attacks of the USA and Israel on Iran, had shown a partial recovery trend with the countries' efforts to activate alternative routes and diplomatic interventions regarding passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Intensifying security risks regarding passage through the Strait of Hormuz and concerns regarding passage through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean after the Houthis increased their attacks on Saudi Arabia, put the Middle East's oil and petroleum product exports under pressure again.
According to the information obtained by the AA correspondent from the data analytics company Kpler, the Middle East's loadings from the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman and the export of crude oil, petroleum products and chemical liquid products from the Red Sea decreased from 21.1 million barrels per day on October 8 to 6.7 million barrels on October 11, 10.4 million barrels on October 12 and 8.3 million barrels on October 13.
While the export in question is around 17 million barrels on a 7-day average, this figure continues to remain below the pre-war export volume of around 23.3 million per day.
The decline in ship transit through the Strait of Hormuz to its lowest level since July 22 played a decisive role in this sharp decrease.
Only 6 commercial ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on October 12. 32 commercial ships were recorded passing through the Bosphorus on 8 October, 24 on 9 October, 11 on 10 October and 12 on 11 October.
While concerns about passage through the Red Sea are increasing, commercial ship passage through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, is experiencing fluctuations.
While 35 commercial ships passed through the Babülmandeb Strait on October 8, this figure was recorded as 41 on October 9, 39 on October 10, 46 on October 11 and 32 on October 12.
It is considered that the Houthis' naval blockade attempt against Saudi Arabia and their efforts to take control of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait have created a new dimension in the US-Israel/Iran War.
Experts point out that the Houthis' attacks and control attempts on the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb Strait pose a significant risk for global maritime trade and energy supply, and warn that large-scale supply disruptions that may occur in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait at the same time as the Strait of Hormuz may put the markets under greater pressure.
