Houthi Blockade and Projectile Strikes Disrupt Global Shipping

Maritime instability intensified on Monday and Tuesday as multiple shipping vessels faced attacks across three different regions. The Houthis in Yemen announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, threatening global energy supplies. This action coincided with a sharp decline in shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, where Kpler data showed only four commodity vessels crossing on Monday, down from seven the previous day. This downturn follows recent US-Iran strikes and rising regional tensions.

Violence against commercial shipping expanded to several hotspots. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency reported a tanker strike by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. In a separate series of attacks on Monday, Greek shipping firm Dynacom Tankers reported that two of its managed vessels were hit by projectiles of unknown origin off the coast of Oman. A third tanker managed by the company was struck by a drone at the Novorossiysk CPC terminal in Russia's Black Sea region.