All articles tagged with #red sea
Yemen's Houthi forces say they struck a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea with a ballistic missile as part of a maritime blockade of Bab el-Mandeb. A separate report from the UK Maritime Trade Operations said a tanker near Yanbu was hit by an unknown projectile, causing a fire but with all crew safe. The incidents highlight escalating regional tensions tied to Iran and come as multinational efforts to defend Red Sea shipping expand.
Piracy off Somalia is returning as U.S.-Iran tensions strain resources, risking new links between Houthis and Somali militants; two ships seized (Lutuf and MT Asana) and others hijacked, raising insurance costs and forcing rerouting; experts warn that closer cooperation with Somali pirates could enable access to missiles and drones, making high-value energy tankers even more lucrative targets and complicating risk calculations for shipowners.
A cargo ship off Yemen was struck by unknown projectiles and declared a complete constructive loss, with UKMTO noting the vessel was unmanned and authorities are investigating. The incident underscores a deteriorating security picture in the southern Red Sea, including the closure of Al Mokha port and a substantial threat level in Bab el-Mandeb and the Strait of Hormuz, amid a series of attacks that followed an Aug. 11 strike near Al Mukha.
Houthis’ escalating strikes on shipping through Bab el‑Mandeb raise fears the Red Sea chokepoint could become a second Strait of Hormuz, complicating U.S. and allied efforts to keep sea lanes open amid the broader U.S.–Iran conflict. Security along the strait is hampered by Yemen’s fragmentation and Houthi control of territory, making naval power alone insufficient. In response, regional coalitions and defense pacts—such as the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement and a multinational maritime coalition—seek to protect navigation, while the U.S. stresses freedom of navigation and sanctions against Iran-linked groups. Analysts caution against treating Bab el-Mandeb as a direct Hormuz analogue, noting that alternative routes exist and that securing the waterway may require ground presence and regional cooperation beyond naval force.
Saudi Arabia is weighing backing a Yemeni ground offensive to retake the Red Sea coast from the Iran-backed Houthis, a move that would test Riyadh’s seven-month effort to marshal rival Yemeni militias and respond to a string of Houthi attacks on ships and Saudi targets along Bab el-Mandeb; the decision hinges on whether a unified ground force can sustain operations and shift the political balance toward negotiations.
Escalating Houthi attacks on Yemen’s government forces and Red Sea shipping threaten to derail the 2022 truce and could rekindle a broader war, with strikes on Mocha, a vessel in Bab al-Mandeb, and eastern Yemen causing casualties. Saudi Arabia has shifted to a more proactive security stance, forging a Red Sea shipping alliance and expanding ties with Pakistan and Turkiye, while Iran’s influence and broader US-Iran tensions add risk. Analysts say a large Saudi-led ground offensive isn’t guaranteed, but civilians will pay the price.
Four crewmembers were killed when Iran-backed Houthis attacked the Egyptian-owned cargo ship Tihamah in Bab el-Mandeb—three Pakistanis and one Indonesian—while two rescuers from an anti-Houthi group were killed during a follow-up rescue; ten people were injured. Separately, U.S. forces fired two Hellfire missiles at the Panama-flagged container ship Vela Nova in the Gulf of Oman, disabling its steering gear after it reportedly violated a naval blockade, underscoring ongoing shipping tensions around Yemen and Iran-linked activity.
Saudi Arabia is routing a large portion of its crude through the Sumed pipeline from Ain Sokhna to Sidi Kerir in Egypt to evade Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, with Sidi Kerir exports rising to about 2.3 million barrels per day in August. The move lengthens shipments by roughly 25 days and is less cost-effective for many Asian buyers, though it gives Riyadh greater optionality as it protects key chokepoints; most Sidi Kerir-bound oil currently goes to Europe and the U.S., signaling a broader shift in Middle East oil flows amid regional tension.
Houthi rebels killed six crew aboard the cargo ship Tihamah in the Bab el-Mandeb, marking the first Red Sea fatalities in over a year, while U.S. forces later fired missiles at a container ship attempting to breach a blockade of Iranian ports in the Gulf of Oman; the dual incidents underline mounting risks to two vital shipping lanes and fuel ongoing price volatility as diplomacy over the Strait of Hormuz stalls.
At least six people were killed when suspected Houthi forces attacked the Egyptian-owned cargo ship Tihamah in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, with four crew members (three Pakistanis and one Indonesian) killed and two rescue workers killed during a later evacuation; ten were injured. The attack, not claimed by the Houthis, would mark the first fatalities in a Houthi strike on shipping since the broader conflict began, and the vessel had been sailing from Salalah, Oman, to Djibouti.
A suspected Iran-backed Houthi attack in Bab el-Mandeb reportedly killed four crew aboard the Egyptian-owned cargo ship Tihamah, including two Pakistanis and one Indonesian (the fourth crew member's nationality not confirmed). Separately, the Panama-flagged container ship Vela Nova was reportedly struck by a missile off Pakistan, with The Wall Street Journal citing a U.S. helicopter strike on its rudder. If confirmed, these events would mark the first fatalities in Houthi-linked shipping attacks since the wider Iran conflict began and reflect broader disruptions to Red Sea–Bab el-Mandeb traffic amid a U.S.-led blockade and regional tensions.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis fired three ballistic missiles at a cargo ship south of Mocha in the Red Sea, killing six crew members and injuring ten, according to the Yemeni government. It marks the first deadly vessel attack since the US and Israel began strikes on Iran, and a second missile strike reportedly hit rescuers trying to evacuate the ship, signaling a broader escalation in attacks on shipping amid regional tensions.
Yemen’s Houthis say they attacked Saudi Aramco’s Jazan refinery with a drone, causing a fire that was extinguished with no injuries; the strike comes as Saudi Arabia signs a defense pact with Turkey and Pakistan and follows other Houthi attacks on Aramco sites and Red Sea infrastructure amid broader regional energy-security tensions.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels claim attacks on Saudi targets, striking the Red Sea port of Mokha with missiles and drones that killed at least seven people and injured more than a dozen, and hitting a Saudi Aramco refinery in Jazan with a drone—causing a fire Saudi authorities said was extinguished with no casualties. The strikes reflect escalating regional tensions tied to Iran’s war, with both sites damaged as the conflict broadens in the Red Sea corridor.
The Yemen-based Houthis killed 11 people (3 civilians and 8 soldiers) and wounded 32 (including 6 civilians) when missiles and drones hit Mokha port, with claims of targeting a Saudi Aramco oil facility in Jazan in retaliation for incursions into northwest Yemen. The attacks follow a collapse of the truce and come amid broader Red Sea shipping and oil infrastructure tensions linked to regional blocades and the Bab al-Mandab chokepoint.