Houthi Shipping Threat Forces Oil Tankers To Reverse Course Near Yemen

Several oil tankers have abruptly changed course near Yemen after the Iran-backed Houthi movement announced a new “maritime embargo” targeting Saudi Arabia, raising fresh concerns over global energy supplies and shipping security in one of the world’s busiest trade corridors.

Ship-tracking data shows that at least seven oil tankers made sharp U-turns after Monday’s announcement, with all the affected vessels either heading to or departing from Saudi Arabian ports.

The latest disruption comes as the Red Sea has become increasingly important for global oil exports following the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz during the recent US-Israel conflict with Iran.

Nearly 15 per cent of global maritime trade passes through the Red Sea, linking the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Aden through the Suez Canal in Egypt and the Bab al-Mandab Strait between Yemen and the Horn of Africa.

The route has become a critical alternative for Saudi oil exports after traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was severely disrupted.

Rosemary Kelanic of the US-based Defense Priorities think tank said the Red Sea had played a “major role in relieving pressure to global markets” and warned that further Houthi restrictions would likely push energy prices higher.

According to maritime intelligence company Kpler, 20 vessels entered the Red Sea through the Bab al-Mandab Strait the day before the Houthis announced the embargo, while 22 ships exited the waterway.

Kelanic warned that attacks on vessels in the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden would not only affect ships linked to Saudi Arabia but could disrupt broader international maritime traffic.

The European Union’s naval mission in the region, Aspides, reportedly advised that “merchant vessels linked to Israeli, US or Saudi interests avoid transiting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden until the threat level decreases,” according to an advisory cited by Reuters.

Ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic revealed that the Liberian-flagged crude oil tanker Rodos, carrying Saudi crude to India, departed the Red Sea port of Al-Muajiz on Monday evening and initially sailed south toward the Bab al-Mandab Strait before making a complete U-turn approximately nine hours later.

Another Liberian-flagged vessel, the oil and chemical tanker Mica, left Saudi Arabia’s Jazan port and also reversed course after heading south.

MarineTraffic data further indicates that at least eight ships approaching the Red Sea from the south also abandoned their routes before entering the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Among them was the Marshall Islands-flagged vehicle carrier Liu Jiang Kou, which had been travelling from China to Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah port before changing course in the Gulf of Aden.

The Hong Kong-flagged crude oil tanker New Prime, also travelling from China to Saudi Arabia, similarly turned around and is currently reported to be waiting in the Arabian Sea.

Although the precise reasons behind each course change cannot be independently confirmed, maritime risk management company Vanguard noted that “the timing is consistent with the embargo announcement.”

According to an email sent by the Houthis to shipowners and seen by the BBC, “vessels are banned from loading or discharging cargo at any Saudi ports.”

The message further warned that ships “may be subject to targeting in any location within the operational reach.”

The Houthis say the embargo is retaliation for what they describe as a Saudi blockade of ports and airports in areas under their control in northwestern Yemen.

Saudi Arabia has rejected the accusation and pledged to “take all necessary measures to protect its ships in accordance with international law.”

Yemen has remained embroiled in civil war since 2014 after the Houthis seized the capital, Sana’a. The conflict escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition intervened in support of the internationally recognised government.

Although an informal truce has existed between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis since 2022, tensions have recently intensified.

Last week, the Houthis launched missiles at an airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia in response to air strikes on Sana’a airport, which they blamed on the kingdom.

The group has previously demonstrated its ability to disrupt shipping through the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Following the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, Houthi forces began attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, claiming they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians.

Those attacks resulted in four ships being sunk, one vessel being seized and the deaths of nine crew members.

Since shipping through the Strait of Hormuz became restricted, Saudi Arabia has redirected more than 70 per cent of its crude exports to the Red Sea port of Yanbu using its east-west pipeline network.

According to Kpler and Signal Ocean, approximately four million barrels of crude oil per day have recently been shipped from Yanbu, compared with around 973,000 barrels daily a year earlier.

Kpler senior oil analyst Naveen Das said that if the Bab al-Mandab Strait becomes effectively inaccessible, Saudi Arabia’s remaining option would be to transport oil through the Mediterranean before routing shipments around the southern tip of Africa to Asian markets.

Das noted that consumers may not immediately feel the effects, but warned that the current geopolitical environment has made global energy markets more vulnerable.

“We could weather it for two weeks, three weeks, even a month, but even in that time, we will see higher freight rates, higher energy prices and that bleeds into higher energy consumer costs.”

To reduce the risk of being targeted, many vessels operating near the Red Sea have begun broadcasting messages declaring that armed security personnel are on board, a practice that became common during previous Houthi attacks linked to the Gaza conflict.

MarineTraffic data indicates that at least 50 vessels in the region are currently transmitting such security messages.

Martin Kelly of EOS Risk Group said ship captains fear the Houthis could mistakenly identify vessels based on previous visits to Saudi ports.

“Houthis might read your situation wrong” and think their ships have “called at a Saudi port in the past, then therefore you could be attacked”.

He also warned of the potentially devastating consequences if one of the large crude carriers were successfully targeted.

“A lot of these ships are very large crude oil carriers. I think the damage would be catastrophic. There would certainly be deaths onboard these ships.”