Houthis claim missile strike on Saudi tanker off Yanbu

Yemen's Houthis said on Monday that their forces hit a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea with a ballistic missile, as the Iran-backed group pursues a maritime blockade of the kingdom. The claim came hours after a British maritime agency reported that a tanker struck by an "unknown projectile" had caught fire off Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast.

The Houthi statement said: "The strike was accurate and direct, resulting in a fire breaking out aboard the vessel and causing a number of other ships that were present in the target area to flee." It added that the targeting came "as part of the implementation of the Armed Forces' decision to ban maritime navigation by the Saudi enemy."

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a tanker had been struck by an unknown projectile, causing a fire on the main deck. All crew were safe and accounted for, with no environmental impact reported. The incident took place 63 nautical miles (about 117 km) west of the Saudi city of Yanbu, which lies hundreds of kilometres north of Yemen. British maritime security firm Vanguard Tech also said a Saudi-flagged vessel had been hit by a missile and caught fire.

Saudi shipping company Bahri later confirmed that its vessel, the Amzan, was involved in a maritime incident in the Red Sea. In a statement, Bahri said it remained in contact with the vessel and was coordinating with authorities, adding that all crew members were safe and no injuries had been reported. "The safety of our people, the protection of the maritime environment, and the safe management of the vessel remain our highest priorities," the statement said. There has been no confirmation from Saudi officials; an Al Jazeera request for comment to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received no response.

Blockade and regional tensions

The Houthis have been attacking Saudi-linked shipping since declaring a maritime blockade on the kingdom last month. Hostilities escalated in July after the rebels welcomed an Iranian plane in Sanaa, setting off tit-for-tat attacks. The Houthis have hit Saudi tankers in the Red Sea and attacked Yemeni government forces since the latest round of fighting broke out. They have also repeatedly targeted Saudi oil infrastructure and airports.

Yanbu is Saudi Arabia's main Red Sea oil port, where millions of barrels a day are loaded, and has become the main route for Saudi oil skirting the Strait of Hormuz, which remains under blockade after the US-Iran war continued following the collapse of an interim deal. The Houthi blockade has threatened Saudi Arabia's ability to export millions of barrels of crude oil per day. On 31 July, Riyadh announced a multinational maritime defence coalition with 14 countries, including Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt, to protect Red Sea shipping.

The Bab al-Mandeb strait, which connects the southern Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, carries roughly 12% of global maritime trade. The Houthis disrupted it severely with their campaign against Israel-linked shipping during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, claiming support for Palestinians. The Houthis have reportedly held talks with Tehran on instituting a toll for cargo ships passing through the strait.

Escalation at Mocha port

In a separate development, Yemen's Mocha port, near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, has suspended commercial and maritime operations after being hit by more than 25 missiles in Houthi attacks over recent days, the port's director said. The attacks killed seven people and caused an estimated $16 million in losses, the director told a news conference. Forces aligned with Yemen's internationally recognized government control the port, which has a smaller cargo capacity than the main ports of Aden and Hodeidah.

Yemen's government said on Friday the Houthis fired six ballistic missiles at Mocha, killing at least four civilians and targeting civilian, economic and maritime facilities. Following the attacks, the Houthis said they targeted a military build-up of weapons and warships belonging to Saudi-backed forces in Mocha.

In recent weeks, the Houthis have also killed seven people in a Yemeni port and targeted an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia. They killed at least six people and wounded ten others in a double-tap strike on a cargo vessel in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. The Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah, came to power in late 2014 after storming Sanaa and seizing the presidential palace and key military sites, forcing Yemen's government into exile. They are part of Tehran's Axis of Resistance, a network including Hezbollah, Hamas and Iraqi militias. Although the Houthis do not control the part of Yemen's coastline along Bab el-Mandeb, they hold territory less than 100 kilometres away.