Edgar Lee
On March 11, Ansar Allah’s Yemeni Armed Forces announced the resumption of their naval blockade against Israeli ships in the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, Bab-el-Mandeb, and the Gulf of Aden in what they have called a “siege for siege” in response to Israel’s blockade on Gaza. The price of crude oil rose by 5.0% over the following two weeks, exacerbating imperialist crisis internationally.
Since the initiation of the naval blockade in 2023 in solidarity with the Palestinian armed resistance and the people of Gaza, crude oil shipping companies have stopped sending some tankers through the Red Sea and instead have rerouted them around Africa’s southern tip, adding to transport cost and time. In 2024, global crude exports dropped by 2% in what was the first yearly dip since 2021, during the early stages of the international imperialist economic crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Israel’s Port Eilat declared bankruptcy in 2024, citing Ansar Allah’s blockade. The president of Egypt stated that in 2024 the naval blockade had cost Egypt roughly $7 billion in revenue from the Suez Canal, dropping Egypt’s activity with it by 70% and losing about $800 million of revenue per month. About 12-15% of world trade passes through the Suez Canal.
On March 20, international oil cartel OPEC+ (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries+) announced that they had produced a new oil output cuts plan to compensate for overproduction months after promising that they would hike up oil output, a promise that they have delayed since 2024 after economic statistics performed worse than expected.
Proving the efficacy of the naval blockade, the U.S. attacks against Yemen are a failed and genocidal attempt to defend U.S. imperialism’s economic and political interests in the face of crisis. Its desperation is made clear with the fact that the Biden administration admitted that the attacks were unsuccessful at stopping Ansar Allah back in January 2024, yet both the Biden and Trump administrations have continued with the attacks anyway.
Image: Chios Lion oil tanker attacked by Ansar Allah forces on July 15, 2024. Credit: Houthi Military Media.
The Worker is an entirely volunteer-run revolutionary newspaper free from and radically antagonistic to corporate influence. We rely on the support of our readers to sustain our editorial line in service of the working class and the reconstitution of its party, the Communist Party. Make a one-time or recurring donation to our newspaper today:
Make a one-time donation
Make a monthly donation
Make a yearly donation
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
