Yemens Houthis attack Saudi tanker as US launches more Iran strikes

Data from MarineTraffic shows Encelia departed the Saudi port of Yanbu on Monday and sailed south, briefly pausing close to the port of Jeddah before continuing towards the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the narrow waterway off Yemen’s south-western coast that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, according to BBC Verify.

Shortly after 19:11 GMT on Wednesday, the tanker began to slow down and sail east. At 20:11 the ship reported being “Not Under Command” before coming to a complete stop just before 22:30 close to the Farasan Islands, about 80km south-west of al-Shuqaiq.

There has so far been no confirmation of an attack on the other Saudi-flagged tanker, Layla.

Data from MarineTraffic shows it departed Yanbu on 14 July and reported its destination as the Saudi port of Jizan, with an estimated arrival date of 16 July. Layla last broadcast its location on Friday about 90km east of the Farasan Islands.

A number of other oil tankers in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden have been changing course since the Houthis announced a “maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia on Monday. Sarea claimed the Houthis had “forced approximately 10 ships to retreat and return”.

The Houthis said the blockade was in retaliation for a Saudi blockade of ports and airports in the territory they control in north-western Yemen, as well as an air strike on Sanaa airport last week that they blamed on the kingdom.

The blockade and tanker attacks have the potential to widen the war between the US, Israel and Iran, and to further disrupt global energy supplies and maritime trade.

With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed because of Iranian attacks, Saudi Arabia has used its east-west oil pipeline to increase exports via the Red Sea in recent months.

Soon after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, the Houthis began attacking merchant vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with missiles, drones and small boats, saying they were acting in support of the Palestinians.

Four ships were sunk, nine crew members were killed, and commercial traffic through the Bab al-Mandab Strait hit a record low as shipping companies stopped using the Suez Canal and rerouted their vessels around southern Africa instead.

Although the Houthis paused their attacks in response to the Gaza ceasefire last October, the number of ships moving through the strait has yet to return to previous levels.