Saudi Arabia Keeps Crude Shipments Flowing Through Red Sea as Houthi Threats Persist in 2026

3 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · Jul 24

Saudi crude exports are still moving through the southern Red Sea even as Iran-backed Houthi threats continue to menace oil tankers on the route.
The latest assessment suggests the danger has eased somewhat rather than disappeared, slowing shipments but not halting Saudi flows.
Those cargoes are being sustained despite a broader escalation in the Middle East war, keeping a key oil-export corridor operating under persistent security risk.

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Can Saudi Arabia keep exports flowing if both Bab el-Mandeb and Hormuz remain under pressure, or is its wartime rerouting capacity nearing its limit?

If Houthi threats are slowing but not stopping Saudi oil, how close is the Red Sea to a disruption that jolts global energy prices?

Why are tankers still risking the Red Sea despite blockade threats, and what happens if insurers decide the route is no longer worth it?