Saudi oil loadings fall 36% as Houthi threats disrupt the Bab al-Mandeb route

According to The National on 20 July, citing cargo-tracking data, Saudi Arabia's seaborne crude loadings fell about 36% over two weeks, dropping from a peak of 9.5 million barrels per day to 6.1 million bpd.

The decline reflects Houthi threats and disruption to passage through the Bab al-Mandeb strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, a route used for part of Saudi Arabia's west-coast oil exports. On 23 July the Houthis attacked ships in the Red Sea for the first time since the 2025 truce.

Simultaneous disruption at both the Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb chokepoints has raised oil-supply risk and is among the drivers of higher global crude prices.