Two tankers laden with Saudi oil crossed the Bab el-Mandeb strait over the weekend, data collected by Reuters showed on Monday, despite the maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia declared by the Iran-aligned Houthis at the end of last month.
Kpler data showed that 18 commodity vessels total passed the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Sunday, down from the 27 that passed on Saturday and the 28 on Friday.
Two tankers – the Suezmax tanker Lesvos, carrying 1 million barrels of Saudi crude. and Very Large Crude Carrier Desh Vaibhav, 1 million barrels of Saudi crude – exited the Red Sea with their automatic identification systems (AIS) transponders switched off, the data showed.
The Houthis of Yemen, who control the capital Sana’a and much of its Red Sea coastline, announced on 20 July that they were implementing a blockade against Saudi ships, opening a new front against the US and its allies in the war on Iran. They have since claimed to have been behind a number of strikes on Saudi tankers.
