Yemen’s Houthis announced a ‘sea embargo’ on Saudi Arabia

Bab al-Mandab Strait, a 32 km wide (20 mi) waterway between southwestern Yemen and the Horn of Africa. It connects the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea, which is connected to the Mediterranean Sea by the Suez Canal.

Shortly after the Gaza war began in October 2023, the Houthis began attacking merchant ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with missiles, drones and small boats, claiming they were supporting the Palestinians.

Four ships were sunk, nine crewmen were killed, and trade through the Bab al-Mandab was at an all-time low as shipping companies turned their ships around southern Africa.

Although the Houthis halted their offensive last October in response to a Gaza ceasefire, the number of transshipments across the coast has not yet recovered, according to the International Monetary Fund.

To restore the situation on the Hormuz coast, Saudi Arabia transferred more than 70 percent of its crude production to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.

About 4 million barrels per day (bpd) have been shipped from there in recent weeks, up from about 973,000 bpd a year ago, according to data from Kepler and Signal Ocean.

In total, the volume of petroleum transited through Bab Al-Mandab reached 7.4 million bpd in June, or about 7 percent of global production.

Mohammed Albasha, of the US-based risk consultancy firm Basha Report, said it was not yet clear whether the Houthis had started targeting ships bound for Saudi Arabia.

Even if no attacks were carried out, the announcement alone could disrupt shipping and create uncertainty at Saudi ports. The Houthis’ shift from intimidation to direct action remains a concern, he told Reuters news agency.