The Houthis are building a new kind of sea power
Yemen’s Houthi militia declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia. Saudi tankers in the Red Sea rerouted north to Yanbu, and earlier this month, the group’s attacks reached them there.
Last month, Yemen’s Houthi militia announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia. As a result, Saudi tankers in the Red Sea changed course to Yanbu, the kingdom’s insurance policy regarding crude oil shipments. This route carries over 80% of Saudi Arabia's daily exports of approximately 4.6 million barrels. However, the Houthis have disrupted this route, making ship traffic fall from a daily average of 130-140 ships to just eight.
The Houthis were the first to weaponize Iran's vulnerabilities, such as the Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb, Suez, Panama Canal, and the Taiwan Strait, which are essential choke points for global trade. The Houthis targeted Aramco facilities in Yanbu, further emphasizing the severity of their actions. Despite an informal understanding that spared Saudi ships, Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree recently stated that operations against Saudi shipping will "continue and escalate."
The Houthis strategically chose to mainly target Saudi Arabia, aiming for concessions to consolidate control at home and expand their influence beyond Yemen. Their actions have significantly impacted global trade, reducing the capacity of global container shipping by 15-20% by forcing ships to take longer routes. This development comes as Saudi Arabia works to break the Houthis' leverage through a ground offensive and a multinational maritime coalition to secure the Red Sea.
However, Washington remains focused on Iran as the primary threat and does not yet prioritize the Red Sea.
Written by urgent.news from IOL's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
