Houthis Warn Global Shipping Companies To Avoid Saudi Ports Or Risk Being Targeted

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement has warned global shipping companies not to load or unload cargo at Saudi Arabian ports, saying vessels that ignore the directive could face sanctions and be targeted “in any location” within the group’s operational reach, according to an email seen by Reuters.

The warning took effect at 1201 GMT on Monday, a day after the Houthis announced an immediate naval blockade against Saudi Arabia.

The July 20 email was sent to multiple shipping companies by the Houthis’ Sanaa-based Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center (HOCC). It stated that “vessels are banned from loading or discharging cargo at or from any Saudi ports.”

“We strongly recommend that your company exercise due diligence and the utmost care in all its dealings,” the email said.

It added that any vessel violating the order would face sanctions and “may be subject to targeting in any location within the operational reach of the Yemeni Armed Forces.”

The HOCC was the main body used by the Houthis to issue warnings to the shipping industry during the group’s attacks on merchant ships between 2023 and 2025, which ended after the Gaza ceasefire last October.

One source at a shipping company that received the email told Reuters it appeared to be “a reminder of their presence in the area.”

The warning follows the Houthis’ announcement on Monday that they were imposing an immediate naval blockade on Saudi Arabia. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree described it as an “eye for an eye” response to Saudi actions against Yemen.

The group also said the move was in response to a Saudi missile strike on Sanaa International Airport last week and what it called “an unjust and oppressive siege” imposed by Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia rejected the allegations, condemned the Houthi threat and said it would take “all necessary measures” to protect its ships. Saudi state oil giant Saudi Aramco declined to comment.

The warning has already affected tanker movements.

Two oil tankers carrying Saudi crude to China and India made U-turns in the Red Sea on Tuesday. Instead of heading towards the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, they changed course towards the Suez Canal after the Houthi warning, according to LSEG shipping data.

British maritime risk management company Vanguard said the rerouting marked the first confirmed changes to commercial tanker movements since the Houthi embargo was announced and was likely to disrupt Saudi crude exports and regional shipping patterns.

Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil exporter, has increased the use of its Red Sea export terminal at Yanbu since the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran began on Feb. 28.

Shipping sources said the terminal was continuing to load oil onto ships already operating in the Red Sea or arriving through the Suez Canal.

Any disruption at the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, would remove an important alternative route for Saudi oil exports and increase concerns over global energy supplies and trade.

Before the conflict began on Feb. 28, about 130 to 140 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz each day, carrying around one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.

Since the conflict began, traffic through the strait has fallen sharply because of attacks on vessels by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a U.S. naval blockade imposed in mid-April.

Saudi Arabia has since shifted more than 70% of its crude exports through Yanbu on the Red Sea. According to UBS, exports from the port are now about 4.5 million barrels per day.

Commercial shipping in the Red Sea has still not fully recovered from the Houthi attacks that began in November 2023, when the group said it was acting in support of Palestinians during the Gaza war.

War-risk insurance costs have also increased. Reuters reported that premiums rose to about 0.75% of a ship’s value on Monday from around 0.3% on Friday, increasing insurance costs by thousands of dollars for a seven-day voyage.

Brent crude was trading at $90.83 a barrel on Tuesday morning, up 1.81% from the previous day.

Despite the heightened tensions, the U.S. Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) said in an advisory on Tuesday that there had been no confirmed attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea during the previous 48 hours.

References: Firstpost, Reuters