Houthi forces fired ballistic and cruise missiles and drones at the Saudi tanker Encelia in the Bab al-Mandab on 22 July, and Saudi Arabia's state news agency confirmed a fire on the vessel's bow with the crew safe and no casualties recorded1. Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesman, announced the strike, calling it a response to what he termed a violation of the movement's blockade decision2.
The Bab al-Mandab is the strait between Yemen and the Horn of Africa where the Red Sea narrows towards the Suez Canal, the southern gate for oil leaving The Gulf. It had been the quiet alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, the water Gulf barrels slipped through when the northern chokepoint tightened. Until 22 July the Houthis had closed it to Saudi shipping by radio warning alone, a broadcast rather than a weapon.
A hit in the south changes the shape of the war rather than its intensity. For a fortnight the fighting had climbed vertically, more nights and heavier targets inside Iran, while crude still slipped out through the southern route. Firing on the Encelia closes that back door, and it draws Saudi Arabia, which had wanted the maritime war held to hailing calls, into the shooting. The General Transport Authority, cited by the Saudi Press Agency, is the only official confirmation so far, and it covers the Encelia alone.
