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The Houthis (Ansar Allah) in Yemen announced early on July 23 that they had targeted two Saudi oil tankers with ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as one-way attack drones.
In a statement, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the tankers Encelia and Layla were targeted for violating the group’s maritime blockade, claiming the strikes scored direct hits. He also said the operation forced nearly ten vessels to turn back and retreat.
He said the declaration of the maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia was “based on the equation of ‘an eye for an eye,'” and affirmed “the right of our great people to respond to the blockade with a blockade.”
Saree also warned Saudi Arabia that any attack on Yemen would be met with major operations deep inside the territories of the kingdom.
The Saudi Press Agency reported that the Encelia had been hit, citing an official source at Saudi Arabia’s Transport General Authority. The source said all crew members were safe.
“These attacks constitute a violation of international laws and conventions that guarantee the safety of commercial vessels and their crews,” said the SPA, which did not provide details on the claimed Layla attack.
Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said it had received reports that a tanker had been struck.
“The master of a tanker reports being struck by an unknown projectile which has caused a fire onboard that the crew are currently fighting,” said UKMTO, which monitors shipping in the region.
When the Houthis first announced the maritime blockade on the kingdom three days earlier, the Saudi-led coalition vowed to respond “firmly and forcefully” to any threat from the group. The coalition also dismissed claims that Yemen’s ports and airports had been closed as “misleading” at the time.
The blockade directly threatens the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The waterway — a narrow 20-nautical-mile chokepoint between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula — funnels an estimated 10 percent of the world’s seaborne oil trade and vital container shipping between Asia and Europe, making it one of the planet’s most strategically vital, and volatile, maritime corridors.
Any response by Saudi Arabia will likely lead to a major escalation and could possibly reignite the war in Yemen, where tensions are already high.
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