Tag: BabElMandeb

8 Min Read

Maritime Trade Enters the Age of Armed Passage

The modern maritime order is designed to separate a ship's right of passage from the nationality of its owner, the origin of its cargo and the political allegiance of its customer. Across several of the world's most important sea lanes, that separation is beginning to break down.Iran is seeking payments…

5 Min Read

Saudi Arabia Is Being Pulled Back Into Yemen’s War

Saudi Arabia spent years trying to extract itself from the war in Yemen. That strategy is now under mounting pressure.Since mid-July, Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have resumed attacks on Saudi territory and shipping, declared a naval blockade against the kingdom and targeted oil infrastructure along the Red Sea coast. Forces aligned…

2 Min Read

Houthis Target Saudi Tanker as China Talks Safe Passage

Yemen's Houthis said Tuesday they fired ballistic missiles at the Saudi-flagged tanker NCC Ghazal in the Red Sea, alleging it had ignored blockade warnings, and claimed the missiles forced it to reverse course, according to Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree. The tanker had last shown on AIS tracking near Yanbu,…

6 Min Read

Gulf Oil Faces a Two-Strait Trap

The thesis works with two qualifications: the Gulf is not completely sealed because the UAE retains its Fujairah outlet, and American energy companies may benefit while the United States as a whole absorbs higher prices and military costs.The Houthi missile and drone attack claimed against Saudi Aramco facilities in Jizan…

3 Min Read

Houthi Blockade Claims First Tanker Casualty

Yemen's Houthi movement said it struck two Saudi-flagged oil tankers in the Red Sea on July 22, the first tanker attack since it declared a blockade on Saudi-linked shipping two days earlier. Military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the vessels, the Encelia and the Layla, had violated the blockade order, according…

2 Min Read

Houthis May Soon Close Bab el-Mandeb Strait

Yemeni Houthis have said they could close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the coming days, threatening a second major chokepoint alongside Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.A member of the Houthi-aligned Ansar Allah movement's political bureau, Mohammed al-Farah, said the group intends to close Bab el-Mandeb in tandem with…