Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement has claimed responsibility for attacking two Saudi oil tankers travelling through the Red Sea, saying the vessels had breached its recently announced maritime blockade.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said on Wednesday, “We targeted two Saudi oil tankers, named Encelia and Layla, for their violation of the blockade decision issued by the armed forces,” reports Al Jazeera.
Saudi Arabia’s official news agency, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), confirmed that the tanker Encelia had been struck, citing an official from the kingdom’s Transport General Authority.
According to the report, all crew members were unharmed.
SPA condemned the incident, stating, “These attacks constitute a violation of international laws and conventions that guarantee the safety of commercial vessels and their crews.”
The agency did not provide details regarding the Houthis’ claim that the Layla was also targeted.
Saree said the operation involved “using a number of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones”, adding that the strikes caused fires aboard the ships.
He also claimed that the group’s actions had compelled “nearly ten ships… to abandon their routes, and turn back.”
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which monitors maritime security in the region, reported receiving information that a tanker had come under attack.
“The master of a tanker reports being struck by an unknown projectile which has caused a fire onboard that the crew are currently fighting,” UKMTO said.
The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, have been fighting Yemen’s internationally recognised government and the Saudi-led coalition supporting it for more than a decade.
On 20 July, the group declared a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia following a major escalation in fighting.
The move came after Yemeni government forces bombed Sanaa airport, which is under Houthi control, to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing.
Explaining the blockade, the Houthis said it was “based on the equation of ‘an eye for an eye’ and affirmed “the right of our great people to respond to the blockade with a blockade”.
The group, which has controlled Sanaa since 2014, accused Saudi Arabia of enforcing “an unjust and oppressive siege” for almost 12 years, alleging that it had been “plundering our resources and imposing a comprehensive blockade on our ports and airports by land, sea, and air”.
Commenting on the situation, journalist Hussain al-Bukhaiti, based in Sanaa, told Al Jazeera, “The Saudis feel that they can instigate a popular uprising against the Houthis using these economic strangulation methods.”
Saudi Arabia has denied imposing a siege on Yemen’s population. Critics of the Houthis have also noted that the group rejected a Jordanian proposal to restart flights between Amman and Sanaa.
Al-Bukhaiti said, “The ultimate goal for Ansar Allah’s naval blockade against the Saudis, is to force Riyadh to lift its embargo on the ports and airports controlled by the Houthis.”
As shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been disrupted by the US-Israel war on Iran, Saudi Arabia has sought to redirect oil exports through the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. However, that route is now facing growing risks due to Houthi operations.
The Houthis previously disrupted international shipping after launching attacks on vessels around the Bab al-Mandeb following the start of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023. Those attacks ceased after a Gaza ceasefire was announced in October 2025.
Al-Bukhaiti said, “The people who are questioning if the Houthis can successfully do a blockade against the Saudis should remember, how successfully the Houthis closed access to the Red Sea for the Israeli ports, which in fact resulted in the closure of Eilat port in southern Israel.”
He added, “Eventually the Americans had to do a deal with the Houthis, with mediation from Oman,” referring to an agreement reached in May 2025.
The Bab al-Mandeb Strait, linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, is among the world’s key maritime trade routes and is vital for global oil transportation.
Located between Yemen on one side and Djibouti and Eritrea on the other, the waterway narrows to around 29 kilometres (18 miles), allowing vessels travelling to and from the Suez Canal to pass through two designated shipping lanes.
During 2024, roughly 4.1 billion barrels of crude oil and refined petroleum products moved through the Bab al-Mandeb, accounting for around five percent of global oil trade.
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran in late February, any disruption to traffic through the Bab al-Mandeb could affect around one-quarter of the world’s oil and gas supply.
