![The cargo ship Tihama engulfed in flames after a missile strike near Murad, Yemen. [Reuters]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/08/12/news-p.v1.20260812.56a3d3320a3c43b7bf3d1406137ca598_P1.jpg)
Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have been blockading the Red Sea and launching airstrikes against Saudi Arabia, are escalating attacks on shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the mouth of the Red Sea. The strait had served as an alternative route for transporting Middle Eastern oil after vessels began bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, but that passage is now increasingly difficult to maintain.
Yemen's government Transportation Ministry announced Tuesday that Houthi rebels fired three ballistic missiles at the Tihama, a small cargo vessel owned by an Egyptian company, as it transited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. "The ship, which was carrying food supplies, came under Houthi attack and caught fire," the ministry said. Four crew members were killed — three Pakistanis and one Indonesian — four others were wounded, and one rescuer was also injured, it added.
Yemen's coast guard later said the death toll had risen to six. The victims were identified as three Pakistani crew members, one Indonesian crew member and two soldiers from the Yemeni government's National Resistance forces. The Houthis fired three missiles at the vessel, then launched a second strike as rescue workers approached the burning ship, wounding 10 people in the process.
Last month, the Houthis blamed Saudi Arabia for airstrikes on Sanaa International Airport, which they control, and have since struck Saudi oil tankers in retaliation. If confirmed as a Houthi attack, the incident would mark the first casualties from a Houthi strike on a merchant vessel since the Iran war broke out on Feb. 28. The Houthis have not yet claimed responsibility.
Because the targeted vessel was not Saudi-flagged, the attack raised concerns that the Houthi blockade of the Red Sea may be expanding beyond Saudi ships to vessels of other nationalities.
The Houthis also said through their Saba news agency that they had attacked a Saudi vessel in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that day, claiming the ship was carrying military supplies and releasing photographs as evidence. Saudi Arabia made no comment on the claim.
As Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping intensify, concerns over global energy supplies are growing. The Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait have become the main alternative route for oil exports since the Iran war broke out and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted. Saudi Arabia, the Middle East's largest oil producer, has rerouted much of the crude it previously exported through the Strait of Hormuz — pumping it via pipeline to the port of Yanbu and shipping it out through the Red Sea instead.
According to shipping data firm Kpler, an average of 50 merchant vessels passed through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait daily before the Houthis declared their maritime blockade targeting Saudi Arabia. That figure has since plunged to an average of 32 ships per day.
kate01@heraldcorp.com
