Red Sea crisis may lead to tanker shortage, Kuwait Petroleum CEO says [Video]

HOUSTON — The crisis in the Red Sea could lead to a shortage in the global tanker fleet if disruptions persist for another six months, the CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation told CNBC.

Houthi militants have been striking commercial shipping in the Red Sea since November in support of Palestinians as Israel wages war in Gaza. The attacks have forced many container shipping and tanker companies to divert traffic around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa, adding time and cost.

“One of the things I think we may be concerned about is if this continues for another six months, that we will not have perhaps the tanker fleet available to continue to go around,” Shaikh Nawaf al-Sabah said of the global fleet during an interview …