Houthi forces have seized the Red Sea port of Mocha in Yemen and are advancing towards the Bab el Mandeb Strait, raising fresh concerns over the security of one of the world’s most strategically important maritime routes.
The development comes with further disruption to regional energy infrastructure. The Houthis have claimed that they struck Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, while reports on Friday morning indicated that six major fires had broken out around the pipeline. Satellite images reportedly showed a vast cloud of smoke over the affected area.
The latest Houthi advance could have significant consequences for shipping and the global economy in the months ahead. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, the Bab el Mandeb has become even more strategically important for international trade and energy flows.
The waterway is an important energy lifeline and has also regained significance for container shipping as carriers begin returning to the Suez Canal route instead of maintaining longer voyages around the Cape of Good Hope.
The situation is unfolding as attacks on ships increase across the region. Tehran has claimed that it struck ten vessels around the Strait of Hormuz following US attacks on five Iranian tankers. At least two Iranian attacks have been confirmed so far: one against a VLCC off Iraq and another involving a bunker tanker off the UAE, where one crew member was killed.
The Houthi advance is now moving closer to the Bab el Mandeb itself. After taking control of Mocha, Houthi forces were reportedly advancing south towards Dhubab, a port town located on the Bab el Mandeb Strait near the island of Perim.
As of Friday morning, London time, it remained unclear exactly how close the forces had come to Dhubab. However, analysts warned that taking control of the town and Perim Island could allow the Houthis to exert control over the strategic strait.
In a statement issued to news agencies and maritime media on Friday morning, the Sana’a-based Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center, which is affiliated with the Houthi Supreme Political Council, sought to reassure shipping interests.
The statement said that the Yemeni Armed Forces considered maritime navigation in the international waters of the Red Sea to be safe, with the exception of the previously imposed ban on Saudi vessels, and indicated that there were no further developments in that regard.
Despite that assurance, the seizure of Mocha and the reported advance towards Dhubab place renewed attention on the Bab el Mandeb, a critical maritime chokepoint whose disruption could have repercussions well beyond the immediate region.
