Houthi Warning on Saudi-Linked Shipping Opens New Red Sea Risk as Two Tankers Reverse Course Amid Threat to Block Bab el-Mandeb Strait

Yemen's Houthi rebel movement has opened a dangerous new front in the maritime conflict following the US-Israeli war with Iran, threatening to block Saudi-linked shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — one of the world's busiest maritime chokepoints, carrying 12% to 15% of global maritime trade and around 30% of container traffic. The threat has raised fears that two of the region's most critical oil routes — the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb — could face simultaneous disruption, compounding pressure on global energy markets and shipping lanes.

Although the Houthis have not yet fully enforced the blockade, shipping companies have begun reacting. Two oil tankers and a vehicle carrier reversed course in the Red Sea after the warning was issued. The threat expanded on the group's earlier call to close off the Bab el-Mandeb to Saudi ships, with the Houthis warning that vessels traveling to or from Saudi Arabian ports could be targeted "in any location." Sitting between Yemen and Djibouti, the Bab el-Mandeb is the southern chokepoint to the Red Sea where the Houthis conducted many of their attacks on shipping from late 2023 through 2025.

The escalation comes as Saudi Arabia has been routing more crude through its East-West pipeline to Yanbu, lifting Saudi oil flows through the Suez Canal by approximately 30% — a workaround to the Hormuz closure that the Houthi threat directly targets. According to retired US Navy Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan, speaking during a Middle East Institute webinar on 22 July 2026, the episode underscored the need to reinforce the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea — signed by 172 nations — to protect freedom of navigation across the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz. "This shouldn't end up being just a Saudi-Houthi issue," Donegan said, calling for coordinated condemnation and contingency planning.

Carriers including CMA CGM and Maersk, which had recently taken steps back toward Red Sea transits as the security environment improved post-ceasefire, may now need to reconsider their routing strategies. Regional carriers that were still transiting the Bab el-Mandeb for Saudi cargo could also face disruption. The Houthi threat introduces fresh uncertainty for global supply chains already stretched by the Hormuz crisis — with tanker markets, energy flows, and container schedule reliability all exposed to the risk of simultaneous disruption at two critical chokepoints.