Hormuz Shipping Traffic Plummets as Houthis Seize Mocha Port
Shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has dropped to single digits amid a U.S. blockade and Houthi advances in Yemen.
Commercial shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen to single digits, with only seven vessels transiting on both Wednesday and Thursday. This volume is significantly lower than the 10-day average of 14 to 15 ships and represents a sharp decline from the pre-war average of 125 large commercial vessels per day. The slump follows the start of the Iran war on February 28 and a blockade on Iran-related shipping reimposed by the Federal government of the United States in mid-July, which has halted Iranian crude oil exports.
In the Red Sea, Iran-aligned Houthis seized control of the Yemeni port city of Mocha on Thursday and began advancing toward strategic islands. Despite these developments, traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb strait remained relatively stable, with 26 to 28 commodity vessels transiting daily.
To bypass the Strait of Hormuz, crude and condensate loadings at Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port of Yanbu rebounded in September after hitting a six-month low in August. Data providers differ on the scale of this recovery; Vortexa reports loadings rose to 3.7 million barrels per day from 3.2 million, while Kpler estimates a rise to 2.9 million from 1.5 million. The previous August decline was attributed to intensifying Houthi attacks near the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
