Houthi Hit on Russian Fuel Has Traders Recalculating Risks
- Oil prices rose about $2 after ship struck leaving the Red Sea
- Attack potentially changes which ships are considered at risk
The Marlin Luanda tanker after the attack.
Source: French Navy
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A missile attack on Friday on a tanker taking Russian fuel through the Gulf of Aden may prove to be a defining moment for an oil market that had previously been somewhat immune to months of Houthi militants’ attacks on merchant trade.
Why the calm? Because much of the oil flowing through the Red Sea and Suez Canal came from Russia and — so the theory went — it might be safe. The Houthis themselves signaled Russian ships had nothing to fear, and Moscow is an ally of their sponsor Iran. Oil tankers generally had been largely spared.