Houthi rebels threaten major shipping chokepoint
Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have threatened to blockade the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Traffic there has risen as shipments have shifted away from the Strait of Hormuz. Around 6.2 million barrels of oil have passed through daily in the past month, according to Kpler — up from about 4 million before the Iran-US-Israel war.
Shipping chokepoints: Pre-war crude oil and liquid petroleum volume
500 miles
ARM.
500 km
AZER.
TURK.
TURKEY
SYRIA
LEB.
IRAN
ISR.
IRAQ
AFG.
Strait of
Hormuz
20.9 million
barrels a day
JORDAN
KUWAIT
SAUDI
ARABIA
Suez Canal
4.9
BAHRAIN
QATAR
East-West pipeline
UAE
OMAN
Red Sea
YEMEN
Area of
Houthi
control
Typical tanker
traffic flow
Bab al-Mandeb
Strait 4.2
500 miles
ARM.
500 km
AZER.
TURK.
TURKEY
SYRIA
LEB.
IRAN
ISR.
IRAQ
Strait of
Hormuz
20.9 million
barrels a day
JORDAN
KUWAIT
SAUDI
ARABIA
Suez Canal
4.9M
BAHRAIN
QATAR
East-West pipeline
UAE
OMAN
Red Sea
YEMEN
Area of
Houthi
control
Typical tanker
traffic flow
Bab al-Mandeb
Strait 4.2M
TURKMENISTAN
TURKEY
SYRIA
LEB.
ISR.
IRAQ
IRAN
JORDAN
AFG.
Strait of
Hormuz
20.9 million
barrels a day
Suez Canal
4.9 million barrels a day
KUWAIT
Persian
Gulf
BAHRAIN
EGYPT
East-West pipeline
Red Sea
Gulf of
Oman
QATAR
SAUDI
ARABIA
UAE
Typical tanker
traffic
flow
OMAN
Indian Ocean
SUDAN
YEMEN
Area of
Houthi
control
ERITREA
Bab al-Mandeb Strait
4.2 million barrels a day
Gulf of
Aden
250 miles
250 km