00:00Is this the world's next oil lifeline, or its next trap?
00:03Tankers are on their way to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait,
00:06a tiny passage that Saudi Arabia decided to use as an alternative oil route,
00:10while the Strait of Hormuz remains risky.
00:13The kingdom plans to transport around 5 million barrels of crude a day
00:16from its eastern fields across this pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu,
00:20providing a little relief to Saudi Arabia's oil customers in Asia.
00:24It's less than the 7 million barrels a day that usually departs from the Gulf Strait of Hormuz,
00:28which carries over one-fifth of all seaborn-traded oil.
00:32But although Bab el-Mandeb presents an alternative, its narrowness,
00:36just 29 kilometers at its tightest point,
00:38makes it vulnerable to attacks from Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
00:42They have repeatedly struck commercial ships using drones and missiles,
00:45disrupting one of the world's most critical corridors for energy and trade.
00:49Attacks intensified after Hamas attacked Israel in 2023,
00:53but effectively came to a halt after a ceasefire with Hamas was signed.
00:57Still, it's hard to predict the risk.
00:59Nobody wants to put their crews and their ships in harm's way.
01:03However, there are companies, there are charters,
01:08and there are ship owners that are happy to take this risk.
01:12Shipping is an industry by which people make money.
01:15When there is chaos, more money is to be made.
01:18But the Houthis aren't the only threat.
01:20With ballistic missiles capable of reaching targets up to roughly 2,000 kilometers away,
01:24Iran could potentially strike ships moving toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
01:29Saudis will look at things from their own perspective,
01:31through the lens that they understand and what best serves their interests.
01:35There is a roadmap to a reconciliation.
01:39The Houthis depend on this quite largely.
01:41A risk Saudi Arabia feels is worth taking.
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