Houthis threaten to expand Red Sea attacks
- On August 5, Yemen’s Houthis said they would widen attacks into the northern Red Sea and claimed strikes on two Saudi oil tankers. - The Houthis said they could close “all access routes” to Saudi oil shipments, while Brent rose 81 cents to $80.17. - Saudi Arabia had not publicly commented as of August 5; traders and shipowners were watching traffic toward Yanbu and Suez.
The Houthis said on August 5 that they would widen their campaign against shipping into the northern Red Sea and claimed they had struck two Saudi oil tankers, adding a new threat to one of the world’s main energy and trade corridors. The group said it could close “all access routes” to Saudi oil shipments, according to the New York Times. Saudi Arabia had not publicly commented on the claim as of August 5. Oil prices rose after the statement, with Brent crude up 81 cents to $80.17 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate up 34 cents to $76.11. ### Where are the Houthis saying they will strike next? The northern Red Sea is the new area named in the Houthi threat. That matters because the threat reaches beyond the Bab al-Mandab chokepoint at the southern end of the Red Sea and points toward routes used by ships heading for Saudi ports and the Suez Canal. (nytimes.com) Yanbu, on Saudi Arabia’s west coast, was named in market coverage as the area off which the Houthis said they attacked a Saudi tanker. Yanbu is a key Saudi crude export port on the Red Sea, and traffic from there moves north toward Suez. ### What exactly did the Houthis claim? (nytimes.com) The Houthis said they had hit two Saudi oil tankers and would continue to escalate attacks on Saudi-linked oil shipping, according to the New York Times and other reports that cited the group’s statement. One report quoted the group as saying it would target Saudi oil tankers in the northern Red Sea to close “all access points” and stop their passage. (energynews.today) Saudi Arabia had not commented publicly on the claim in the reports available on August 5. That left the Houthi account unconfirmed by Saudi authorities at the time the market reacted. ### Why are shippers paying attention now? On August 4, the India-flagged cargo vessel MSV Faize Noore Oliya sank off Yemen after an attack, according to Indian officials and shipping reports. (nytimes.com) All 13 Indian crew members were rescued, India said. That sinking added a concrete commercial incident to the Houthi threat. FreightWaves said the vessel went down after a fiery attack, while India’s external affairs statement condemned the strike and said its embassy in Riyadh was coordinating on the crew’s safety. ### What moved in the oil market? (cnbctv18.com) Brent crude rose to $80.17 a barrel by 1200 GMT on August 5, up 81 cents, while WTI gained 34 cents to $76.11, according to Reuters market coverage carried by RTÉ and other outlets. The move followed the Houthi statement that they had attacked a Saudi tanker off Yanbu. (freightwaves.com) Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS, said in Reuters-reported coverage that the Houthi claim pushed prices higher after earlier losses. The price move reflected concern that any widening of attacks could disrupt shipping and oil flows through the region. ### What should readers watch next? (energynews.today) August 6 shipping movements through the Red Sea and toward the Suez Canal are the next concrete test of whether the threat changes commercial behavior. Saudi government comment, any confirmation from ship operators, and further Houthi statements on vessels near Yanbu are the main near-term markers. (energynews.today) Crude prices and vessel incident reports are also likely to remain the fastest public signals. As of the latest available reports, the Houthis had issued the threat, Saudi Arabia had not publicly responded, and the most recent confirmed shipping casualty was the August 4 sinking of the MSV Faize Noore Oliya. (nytimes.com)
