DOHA, July 28. /TASS/. Commercial ship traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait fell by 56% over the past week after Yemen's Houthi rebels announced an embargo on Saudi Arabia-linked vessels, The National reported.

According to the newspaper, on July 26, only 15 bulk cargo ships passed through the strait compared to 34 on July 20, the day the blockade was announced. Nine of the ships were leaving the Red Sea, and six were entering it. The ships were carrying oil, grain, and fertilizer to China, India, Pakistan, and the Netherlands. The National noted that the decline in shipping traffic occurred amid the Houthis' statements about attacks on facilities belonging to the Saudi oil and gas company Saudi Aramco in the port cities of Jizan and Yanbu on July 25, which heightened fears of renewed full-scale hostilities in Yemen.

At the same time, the newspaper pointed out that ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz nearly doubled on July 26 amid a lull in hostilities between the US and Iran following two weeks of mutual strikes. According to analysts, 11 ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz on July 26, six on July 25, and 12 on July 24. Many vessels turned off their tracking systems and took unusual routes to avoid detection.

On July 20, Houthi spokesman Yahya Saria announced a ban on maritime shipping to and from Saudi Arabia. The next day, the Saudi-led Arab coalition announced that it was beginning to implement measures to protect merchant ships in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.