Home · World · Sep 10 archive
Iran-backed Houthis Threaten Second Global Shipping Chokepoint, Raising Oil Prices
Confirmed
In Short: Clashes near Al-Hazm, Yemen, between Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and Iran-aligned Houthis have intensified, threatening the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and raising concerns about global oil and commercial traffic disruptions.
Clashes between Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and Iran-aligned Houthis near Al-Hazm, Yemen, have escalated, according to Fox News. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that crude oil and petroleum liquids moving through Bab el-Mandeb averaged 8.1 million barrels per day in the second quarter of 2026, up from 5.4 million barrels per day in the final quarter of 2025. This advance by the Houthis threatens the southern gateway to the Red Sea, just as Saudi Arabia has increasingly relied on that route to bypass Hormuz, putting pressure on critical shipping lanes and raising the risk of further disruptions.
The conflict has also led to a surge in the U.S.'s share of India's liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports, according to The Indian Express. The war has effectively halted vessel movements through the Strait of Hormuz, which accounted for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows. This has resulted in a global shortage of fuel oil used by ships and power plants, with very low sulphur fuel oil prices climbing 76% since the start of the Iran war.
Fuel oil deficits are forecasted at 218,000 barrels per day in the third quarter, according to Energy Aspects. The tightening market threatens to raise costs for shipowners and power generators already dealing with disruptions to global energy trade. Very low sulphur fuel oil, the main fuel used in shipping, had climbed to just under $825 per metric tonne, equivalent to around $130 per barrel, in Singapore as of September 1, according to bunker pricing platform ZeroNorth.
What's confirmed
- Clashes between Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and Iran-aligned Houthis near Al-Hazm, Yemen, have escalated, according to Fox News. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that crude oil and petroleum liquids moving through Bab el-Mandeb averaged 8.1 million barrels per day in the second quarter of 2026, up from 5.4 million barrels per day in the final quarter of 2025. This advance by the Houthis threatens the southern gateway to the Red Sea, just as Saudi Arabia has increasingly relied on that route to bypass Hormuz, putting pressure on critical shipping lanes and raising the risk of further disruptions.
- The conflict has also led to a surge in the U.S.'s share of India's liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports, according to The Indian Express. The war has effectively halted vessel movements through the Strait of Hormuz, which accounted for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows. This has resulted in a global shortage of fuel oil used by ships and power plants, with very low sulphur fuel oil prices climbing 76% since the start of the Iran war.
- Fuel oil deficits are forecasted at 218,000 barrels per day in the third quarter, according to Energy Aspects. The tightening market threatens to raise costs for shipowners and power generators already dealing with disruptions to global energy trade. Very low sulphur fuel oil, the main fuel used in shipping, had climbed to just under $825 per metric tonne, equivalent to around $130 per barrel, in Singapore as of September 1, according to bunker pricing platform ZeroNorth.
What's still developing
- Members of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces fire a tank during what they say to be clashes with Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis in a location given as near Al-Hazm, Yemen, in this screen grab obtained from a handout video released Sept. 9, 2026. (Media Centre Of The Yemeni Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters) Reuters separately reported Thursday that Iranian arms and direct guidance from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards helped the Houthi advance, citing Yemeni government, Iranian and regional sources.
- Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin explains how attacks by Iran-backed Houthis in the Bab el-Mandab Strait could complicate U.S.
- The stifled supply of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) from West Asia owing to the regional conflict there has led to a surge in the US’s share in India’s LPG imports to over 50% in the six months since the conflict began, up from less than 10% in the preceding six months, as per an analysis of LPG shipping data of the past 12 months.
- Fuel oil deficit forecast at 218,000 barrels per day in third quarter as Middle East exports plunge 45%; Singapore bunker prices have risen 76% since Iran war began LONDON: A global shortage of fuel oil used by ships and power plants is looming in the third quarter as war-related refinery and shipping disruptions constrain supplies, while refiners increasingly divert fuel oil towards producing more profitable diesel, gasoline and jet fuel.
- The drones posed a threat near the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil shipping chokepoint that has been closed since the war began.
- It’s the second time in under a year that Trump has threatened Bombardier’s access to its largest market — the last time, none of his stated penalties were carried out.
- FILE - A Bombardier Global Express business jet approaches for landing in Lisbon, on June 13, 2023.