[HodhodYemenNews] The Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
i Armed Forces announced on Wednesday evening that they targeted the ’Daisy’ vessel, a Saudi oil tanker, off the Gulf of Aden with ballistic missiles.
Brigadier General Yahya Sare’e, official front man for the Yemeni armed forces, stated that the strike comes within the framework of enforcing a naval blockade on the "Saudi enemy," operating under the equation of "blockade-for-blockade."
Sare’e emphasized that the armed forces are closely monitoring all Saudi oil tanker movements, adding that Yemeni forces will not allow any such vessel to pass through either the southern or northern Red Sea until the "legitimate demands of the Yemeni people are met and the blockade is fully lifted."
The incident comes hours after the Yemeni forces reported conducting a military operation targeting another Saudi oil tanker, the "Wafa," off the coast of Yanbu in the northern Red Sea using multiple ballistic missiles, also claiming a direct hit under the same "blockade-for-blockade" principle.
These marked the eighth and ninth Saudi oil tankers targeted since the start of the blockade last month, according to figures provided by the Houthi military spokesman.
Riyadh strongly rejects the claims, maintaining that maritime controls established in 2015 were legally mandated under UN Security Council Resolution 2216 to prevent illegal arms flows and Iranian weapons smuggling to the Houthis, rather than stop commercial goods.
Saudi Arabia routinely points to operational statistics - such as hundreds of commercial and relief ships delivering millions of tons of food, fuel, and supplies to Hodeidah, Saleef, and Ras Isa - to demonstrate that northern ports remain open.
Last week, Saudi Arabia hosted military officials from 43 countries and the European Union on Thursday to advance the establishment of a "Multinational Defensive Maritime Coalition."
Headquartered in the Kingdom, the proposed Saudi-led alliance aims to secure critical sea lanes - specifically the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden - against Houthi drone and missile strikes while protecting vital energy supply routes like Riyadh's East-West Pipeline to Yanbu.
Endorsed by 14 founding nations including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan, the initiative seeks to pool naval intelligence and operational capabilities to counter what the Saudi-led coalition characterized as Houthi "maritime piracy," warning that further disruptions to international trade would be met with "decisive force."
International reports: More Saudi oil tankers divert around Africa after Yemen's maritime ban
[HodhodYemenNews] International media and maritime tracking data indicate that additional Saudi-flagged oil tankers have diverted away from the Gulf of Aden and Bab al-Mandab, reflecting the continuing impact of Yemen’s maritime restrictions on regional shipping.
According to Reuters, citing international vessel-tracking data, six new Saudi very large crude carriers (VLCCs) changed course in recent days, opting to sail around the Cape of Good Hope instead of returning to Saudi Red Sea ports through the Gulf of Aden and the Suez Canal.
Tracking data from MarineTraffic and LSEG showed the empty tankers, returning from Asian destinations, sailing together around southern Africa. One of the vessels, Delam, was reported to be heading toward Gibraltar.
Reuters, citing two oil trading sources, said the rerouting decision was driven by security assessments, despite adding at least 25 days to voyages returning to Saudi Red Sea ports via the Suez Canal.
Maritime intelligence firm Windward estimated that one Saudi tanker traveling around the Cape of Good Hope would require about 56 days to complete its journey, compared with roughly 24 days via the Bab al-Mandab route.
The report added that official estimates and logistics analyses suggest hundreds—and potentially more than 1,000—commercial voyages have been diverted to avoid the Bab al-Mandab Strait, reducing daily traffic through the corridor to between one-half and one-third of its normal capacity.
International news agencies and maritime analytics firms, including Reuters and Windward, also reported that between 14 and 22 major oil and cargo vessels have recently altered their routes in successive waves, lengthening transit times and contributing to higher marine insurance costs, freight rates, and supply chain disruptions across the region.
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