Published: · Region: Middle East · Category: geopolitics

Strait of Hormuz Shipping Slump and Houthi Missile Fire Put Global Energy Routes Under New Strain

Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen to a new low after a US-Iran ceasefire expired without a follow-on deal, while Yemen’s Houthis have fired five ballistic missiles toward the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Together, the pressure on the Gulf’s eastern and western gateways is forcing shipowners to reroute via Suez and the Arctic and raising the practical risk premium on Middle East energy exports. This story connects the dots between Hormuz, Bab al-Mandab and the routes now carrying the burden.

The world’s most important energy corridor is being squeezed from both ends, forcing a high-speed reconfiguration of how oil and goods move out of the Gulf. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped to a new low after a US-Iran ceasefire expired without any replacement deal, according to regional monitoring, leaving tankers and insurers facing heightened uncertainty around Iranian behavior in the chokepoint. At the same time, Yemen’s Houthi forces have launched five ballistic missiles toward the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the narrow passage linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, in a move that again puts merchant shipping near another critical junction into the blast radius of…

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