US-Iran war: As conflict widens, more waterways become dangerous for oil exports, raising fears of energy crisis | Today’s news
Tensions in the Middle East continue to rise as the US-Iran war approaches its seventh month, raising fears of a widening global energy crisis, with the world’s most important energy corridors now closing.
The conflict, which began in late February after the United States and Israel launched a joint operation against Tehran and killed most of its leaders, including former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is slowly escalating into a wider regional conflict. Iran has been retaliating against US attacks by targeting Washington’s bases in the region, while Saudi Arabia and the Iranian-backed Houthis have also been drawn into the escalating hostilities.
The Middle East conflict means the closure of another waterway
On Friday, the Houthis expanded their control over the Red Sea, threatening a critical waterway for transporting oil from the Persian Gulf. That has now left the region with fewer alternatives as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, once the primary transit point for oil, remains severely limited and well below pre-war levels, The New York Times reported.
Oil exports from Saudi Arabia, the Middle East’s top oil producer, fell to their lowest level in more than 13 years last month. While the U.S. Navy was able to transport oil from Hormuz through sea lanes close to the coast of Oman, on the opposite side of Iran, it required a large-scale and dangerous operation.
For shipping companies, crossing the Strait of Hormuz, a point of contention in US-Iran negotiations, has now become a high-risk task. In July and August, at least 23 ships were attacked in the strait near Oman. At least 22 sailors have been killed in the region since the war began on February 28.
After Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz following attacks from the US and Israel, the Bab al-Mandab Strait became a backup route for transporting Middle Eastern oil, especially for Saudi Arabia. But the Houthis have now maintained a stronghold there after seizing control of the Red Sea port city of Mokha in Yemen, driving Yemeni government-aligned forces out of the region. Just days earlier, the Houthis wounded 73 civilians and hit energy facilities in southern Saudi Arabia.
Middle East waterway becoming dangerous: Experts
Michelle Wiese Bockmann, an analyst at maritime intelligence firm Windward, told The New York Times, “These waters are not safe.” Approaching its seventh month, the war now appears to be spiraling out of control, analysts say, raising fears that the region will be plunged into a wider military confrontation. With no diplomatic solution in sight, the Middle East, a key hub for global energy supplies, is facing one of the worst supply disruptions in decades.
Do Middle Eastern countries have an alternative?
As the waterways become increasingly dangerous, only two Saudi cargoes were able to pass through the Bab al-Mandab strait from the Red Sea last week, according to data from Kpler, a maritime data company.
Riyadh can also use the Red Sea route to transport oil by moving supplies north through a pipeline near the Suez Canal. However, the Mediterranean route is more expensive and may extend the journey to Asia, where most buyers of Saudi Arabia’s oil go.
With key oil routes increasingly under threat and alternative corridors proving costly and difficult to navigate, the region’s energy crisis could deepen further unless a diplomatic solution brings stability to the waterways.
