Yemen’s Houthis said they had struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea in the first such attack since the Iran-backed militant group declared a naval blockade of the kingdom.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on Wednesday that the group had targeted the Saudi-flagged vessels Encelia and Layla with missiles and drones. He added that around ten ships had changed course since the blockade was formally imposed on Monday.
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According to the UK Maritime Trade Operations coordination center, a vessel reported catching fire after being struck by an unidentified projectile around 130km from Al Shuqaiq, Saudi Arabia. There were no reports of casualties.
A video posted on social media appears to show a large fire aboard a ship.
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The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) later cited a source at the kingdom’s Transport General Authority as confirming that the Encelia caught fire after being struck. The source said that all crew members were safe.
In a statement on Wednesday, Saree said the group would continue to enforce what he described as a policy of “a siege for a siege,” which Riyadh has denounced as illegal under international law.
The Houthis imposed the blockade a week after forces loyal to Yemen’s Saudi-backed government bombed Sana’a International Airport in an attempt to prevent an Iranian plane carrying a Houthi delegation from Tehran from landing. The group has regularly launched missiles and drones at Israel since the start of the Gaza war, before reaching a ceasefire with the US in May 2025.
