Tanker firms halt Red Sea traffic after U.S. strikes Houthi militants

Several of the world’s major tanker companies on Friday halted traffic toward the Red Sea after U.S. and British airstrikes on Iran-allied Houthi militants in Yemen.

Hafnia, Torm and Stena Bulk confirmed that they halted traffic toward the crucial trade gateway in response to an advisory from the Combined Maritime Forces, a multinational coalition led by the U.S.

The companies are among the world’s largest operators of tankers for petroleum products such as gasoline, according to their websites. Stena Bulk also transports crude oil.

“Considering these developments and in alignment with expert recommendations, we have decided to immediately halt all ships heading toward or within the affected vicinity,” Hafnia spokesperson Sheena Williamson-Holt told CNBC in statement.

The multinational coalition advised ships to avoid transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait for “several days,” according to a statement from the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners.

“The situation is dynamic and ships should consider holding outside of the area while a period of taking stock of the situation is undertaken until daylight on Saturday 13 January,” the tanker association said.

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait connects the Gulf of Aden with the Red Sea. Some 7 million barrels of crude oil and products transit the Red Sea daily, according the trade analytics firm Kpler.

West Texas Intermediate futures spiked more than 4% to $75.25 while Brent touched $80.75 earlier in the session. The benchmarks have since pulled back with U.S. crude trading at $72.89 a barrel and Brent trading at $78.53.

“The market is going to wait to see whether we see this spread to a significant waterway for oil like the Strait of Hormuz,” Helima Croft with RBC Capital Markets told CNBC on Friday. Some 18 million barrels of crude and…