Attack On Saudi Oil Tanker In Red Sea Prompts Halt To Oil Shipments

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenrwald/2018/07/25/attack-on-saudi-oil-tanker-in-red-sea-prompts-halt-to-oil-shipments/#1ca10e29906a.....

Attack On Saudi Oil Tanker In Red Sea Prompts Halt To Oil Shipments

Ellen R. WaldContributor

Jul 25, 2018,5:51 pm• 4,432 views•#PowerUp

 

On Wednesday morning a Saudi oil tanker was attacked by Houthi forces in Yemen and suffered some damage as it traveled through the Bab el Mandeb Strait. The damage was minimal, but late Wednesday afternoon the Saudi oil minister announced that the Saudi tanker company, Bahri, would be suspending all oil shipments through this area of the Red Sea until further notice.

 

Khalid Al-Falih Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia pictured here at a recent OPEC meeting (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

 

 

This is an extraordinary step, but one that the Saudi oil company, Aramco, considers appropriate. The company issued a statement in which it confirmedthe decision in the interests “of the safety of ships and their crews and to avoid the risk of oil spill.”

Back in April, however, the Saudis took a different approach. Then, Saudi Arabia reported that one of its Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), which can carry over 2 million barrels of oil, was attacked by Houthi forces in the same place. After that attack, Saudi oil minister Khalid al Falih said that “The terrorist attack … will not affect economic activity or stall oil supplies,” and transportation continued to proceed as usual through the Strait.

 

 

 

An oil tanker cruises towards the Strait of Hormuz off the shores of Khasab in Oman on January 15, 2011. (MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

Later in April, Saudi Arabia claimed that Houthi forces (which many believe are backed by Iran) at the port of Hodeida were holding up 19 Saudi oil tankers. However, neutral observers disputed this claim. This latest news will make oil traders more nervous after they were already concerned about the possibility of shipments through the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz being disrupted by Iran.

The Red Sea is a very important shipping lane. If there is a major disruption European powers, Egypt and the United States would all have reason to intervene. They have significant interests in protecting the freedom of the seas through the passageway. An international intervention against the Houthis may be just what Saudi Arabia wants.

Ellen R. Wald, Ph.D. is a historian and consultant on energy and geopolitics. She is the author of Saudi, Inc., president of Transversal Consulting & a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council.