Saudi Arabia resumes oil exports via key waterway

Saudi Aramco on Saturday announced an immediate resumption of crude oil shipments through the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait.

“The company is keen to follow up and evaluate the current situation in coordination with the relevant authorities and to take appropriate measures to ensure the safety and reliability of supplies to its customers through its extensive network as well as its concern for the environment and the safety of tankers and crews,” said an Aramco statement.

Earlier on Saturday Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-Falih announced that oil shipments through Bab Al-Mandeb will resume, Saudi Press Agency reported.

He said the decision was made after the Arab-led coalition had completed all necessary security measures.

Falih stressed that the security of the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait and the navigation route south of the Red Sea is of common international interest and the international community must take responsibility for it.

Last month Saudi Arabia took the extraordinary measure of temporarily halting oil shipments via the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait, a key shipping lane for crude at the southern tip of the Red Sea, after a botched terror attack on its oil tanker by Iranian-backed Houthi militias.

A senior Arab Coalition official reaffirmed on Friday tremendous efforts being exerted in order to ensure the security of the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait and southern Red Sea waters.

The official said that Saudi-led Coalition forces have stepped in to secure the vital waterway despite it embodying an international and regional responsibility.

Speaking to Al-Arabiya, the official stressed common international interest in contributing to these efforts and ensuring the flow of trade and oil through Bab Al-Mandeb.

Spokesman for the coalition Col. Turki Al-Malki said earlier during a press conference on Friday evening that the collision of a ship in Hodeidah port confirms the failure of the Houthi militias in the management of the port, stressing that the control of the Houthis on the West Coast hurts Yemenis and the international community.