Yemen volcano eruption not affecting oil shipping
Shipments of about three million barrels of oil per day through the southern entrance to the Red Sea were unaffected by a volcanic eruption on an island off Yemen, Reuters reported Monday.
According to the report, Yemen coastguard and shipping sources said the eruption on the Jazirt Mount Al-Tair island about 140 kilometers from Yemen spewed lava hundreds of yards into the air and at least nine people were missing at sea. Yemen’s Maritime Affairs Authority issued an advisory for vessels to keep well clear of the island.
'The Bab Al-Mandab passage at the south entrance to the Red Sea is one of the world’s shipping chokepoints,' the Reuters story said. 'Oil tankers move through the passage en route to the Suez Canal or to the southern terminal of the Sumed pipeline in Egypt to supply crude to Mediterranean countries and beyond. Around three million barrels of oil, or about 3.5 percent of global supply, moves past Bab Al-Mandab every day, according to the latest figures available from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.'