Oil prices resumed their upward trajectory on Monday, holding firmly above the $100 per barrel mark after Iran-backed Houthi forces launched fresh strikes on Saudi Arabian infrastructure, according to Ship & Bunker.
Brent crude settled up $1.07, or 1 percent, at $105.68 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate closed $1.34 higher, a 1.3 percent gain, at $101.39, Ship & Bunker reported. The rebound followed losses in the previous trading session.
Pipeline Shutdown and Territorial Gains
According to Ship & Bunker, the Houthis expanded their territorial control in Yemen after seizing Perim Island at the mouth of the Red Sea on Friday. The group also reportedly knocked out Saudi Arabia’s 750-mile east-west pipeline, a critical route that allows crude to bypass the Strait of Hormuz entirely.
The pipeline normally carries 7 million barrels per day to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, Ship & Bunker reported. While the extent of the damage remained unclear, officials shut down the system as a precaution. Traders cited by Ship & Bunker warned that an extended outage could remove up to 4 percent of global oil supply from the market.
Ship & Bunker also reported that the Houthis claimed responsibility for firing dozens of missiles and drones at a military airbase in Khamis Mushait, southern Saudi Arabia, targeting aircraft hangars, radar systems, runways, and ammunition depots. The group described the strikes as retaliation for Saudi airstrikes in Yemen.
Hormuz Traffic and China’s Role
Despite the escalation, shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz continued, with data from Kpler showing 14 vessels transited on Sunday, double the previous day’s figure, Ship & Bunker reported. However, after a vessel was struck during transit, Kpler trade risk analyst Ana Subasic told Ship & Bunker that conditions in the waterway were “escalating,” adding: “Now it’s a question of is this something that escalates further, or is this a cycle to bring it back to the negotiating table?”
Separately, Ship & Bunker cited a Reuters report indicating China has been sending a 55-car block train of goods to Iran, mirroring support Beijing has reportedly provided to Russia. According to the report, China and Iran maintain a bartering arrangement in which Iranian oil exports are exchanged for Chinese medicine, vehicles, military gear, and air defense equipment, with the trade valued at $2 billion to $2.5 billion.
Does This Matter to You?
The pipeline outage and continued attacks on Saudi infrastructure add further uncertainty to a region already central to global crude and bunker fuel movements. With Hormuz transit patterns fluctuating and a key overland alternative route now offline, monitoring of supply routes and potential freight or bunker cost implications may be warranted for those tracking Middle East crude flows.
The source material does not detail direct effects on bunker fuel availability or pricing at specific ports, so any operational impact beyond the general oil price movement described here is not yet clear from this report.
Gulf Bunkering does not provide operational or security guidance. This article is for informational purposes only. Operators should consult flag state authorities, P&I clubs, and relevant advisories for decisions relating to transit planning.
Sources: Ship & Bunker
