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Oil Flows Down by More Than 50% in Red Sea


Tankers of crude oil and oil products are largely avoiding the Red Sea, with the volume of shipments crossing the Bab el-Mandeb, the southern entry point to the Red Sea, down by more than 50% in the first eight months of this year (Energy Information Administration).

The big picture: The Houthi militia in Yemen began targeting international shipping in the Red Sea in late 2023, most recently attacking a British tanker with an “explosive-laden drone boat” (The Telegraph) and a Liberian tanker with missiles and drones (Reuters, subscription). All crew were reported safe.

The numbers: “Oil trade flows through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait averaged 4.0 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2024 through August compared with 8.7 million b/d in full-year 2023, according to Vortexa data,” according to the EIA.

Alternate route: Instead of the Red Sea, shippers are taking the much longer and more expensive route around the Cape of Good Hope, at the southern end of Africa. 

  • “The volume of crude oil and oil products flowing around the Cape of Good Hope increased to 9.2 million b/d in the first eight months of 2024 from an average of 6.0 million b/d in 2023, according to Vortexa data.”

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