US Navy-led group warns Houthis prepared to attack Red Sea shipping

Iran's Houthi allies in Yemen have completed preparations to attack ships transiting the Red Sea's southern access point, a maritime security group led by the U.S. Navy has warned.

"Sources close to the group stated that the Houthis have completed preparations to attack shipping, including the deployment of missiles and drones positioned near Bab el-Mandeb," the Joint Maritime Information Center, or JMIC, told mariners in a notice Tuesday. The center, headquartered in Bahrain, provides security updates to commercial ships in the Middle East.

The European Union's naval mission in the Middle East warned Wednesday that "merchant vessels linked to Israeli, U.S. or Saudi interests" should "avoid transiting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden until the threat level decreases."

The Houthis have repeatedly threatened to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait during the U.S.-Iran war. The strait connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea and global markets.

The militants declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on Monday, threatening to cut off the kingdom's oil exports through the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb. Those exports have acted as a crucial relief valve for global oil markets as Iran attacks tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Houthis have said "all vessels loading or discharging cargo at or from any Saudi ports are prohibited," according to the EU naval mission's Wednesday notice.

Riyadh has diverted millions of barrels per day of oil through a pipeline to the Yanbu terminal on the Red Sea. Exports from that terminal through the Bab el-Mandeb surged to 3.5 million barrels per day in June compared with just 240,000 bpd in the same period last year, according to Kpler data.

Commercial traffic has continued through the southern Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb with no attacks in the past two days, the JMIC said Tuesday. The threat to ships in the area remains "moderate," it said.

"No changes to commercial routing or transit patterns occurred, and vessels continued to use established lanes without disruption," the JMIC said.

Ship tracking firm Kpler, however, observed a 34% decline in traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb on Tuesday compared with Monday, when the Houthis declared the embargo against the Saudis.

Four tankers with Saudi cargo turned around before reaching Bab el-Mandeb on Tuesday, according to the maritime intelligence firm Windward. The ships are carrying 3.8 million barrels of crude oil, gasoil and naphtha, the firm said.

Iran, meanwhile, has stepped up its attacks on tankers in Hormuz as it tries to force vessels to transit the strait through its territorial waters. Three crude oil, products and chemical tankers have come under attack off the coast of Oman and the United Arab Emirates this week.