Gulf shipping traffic down after Houthis say they attacked Saudi tanker

NEW DELHI, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, the key maritime chokepoints in the Gulf, reduced significantly on Wednesday from the previous day, shipping data showed. Just two vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz, including a Panama-flagged coal-laden carrie

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb plunged on Wednesday, with just three vessels crossing the key waterways as Houthi attacks and the Iran war disrupted regional trade.

Gulf shipping traffic down after Houthis say they attacked Saudi tanker  Reuters

The Houthis said on Wednesday that they attacked two Saudi oil tankers, as the rebels pressed on with their maritime blockade of the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia has not commented on the claims by the Houthis, who are backed by Iran and have vowed to close “all access routes” to Saudi oil shipments.

The Houthis have imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea since July.

Crude prices rose Wednesday after Yemen's Houthis claimed they had struck a Saudi Arabian oil tanker in the Red Sea.

Yemen’s Houthi militant group said it would attack Saudi oil tankers in the northern Red Sea, a potential fresh escalation in its attacks on shipping.

Yemen's Houthis say they attacked oil tanker off Saudi coast Yemen's Houthis said on Wednesday that they had attacked a Saudi oil tanker with missiles off the coast of the Saudi port city of Yanbu, on the north of the Saudi Red Sea coast. The group's military spokesperson did not confirm when the attack took plac