Yemen's Houthis say they attacked Saudi oil tanker in Red Sea
Houthis say they struck the Saudi oil tanker Wafa off Yanbu with ballistic missiles, the eighth such Red Sea attack since their blockade began July 22
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Yemen's Houthi rebels said Wednesday they struck a Saudi oil tanker near Yanbu in the Red Sea, marking the eighth such attack since their blockade of Saudi Arabia began July 22, 2026.
A Houthi military spokesman confirmed the strike as part of an escalating campaign against Saudi shipping.
What did the Houthis attack in the Red Sea?
The Houthis targeted the Saudi oil tanker Wafa in the northern Red Sea, off the coast of Yanbu, striking it with several ballistic missiles. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree announced the attack in a video statement, calling it the eighth Saudi tanker hit since the blockade began July 22.
Saree said the group will keep striking vessels moving through the northern Red Sea as Saudi Arabia reroutes its tankers away from the south. He said this shift followed weeks of blockade pressure in southern waters, pushing Riyadh to search for alternate export paths.
Why are the Houthis targeting Saudi oil tankers?
The Houthis say the strikes enforce a maritime blockade they declared against Saudi Arabia. The group has vowed to escalate attacks in the northern Red Sea to close off all access points and stop Saudi oil tankers from reaching international waters, according to Saree's video statement.
Saudi Arabia's shift comes as Iran maintains a parallel blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off the kingdom's other main maritime export route. That has left the Red Sea port of Yanbu as Saudi Arabia's primary outlet for crude oil, with the Bab al-Mandeb Strait now central to its exports. The narrow waterway links the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean and, through the Suez Canal, to the Mediterranean.
How has the Red Sea blockade affected Saudi oil exports?
Saudi seaborne crude exports through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait rose eightfold between March and mid-July 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, according to maritime tracker Kpler. Exports jumped to nearly 100 million barrels in June alone, up from just 7 million barrels in February.
Kpler data also showed that in April and May, all of Saudi Arabia's seaborne crude exports departed from Yanbu port. That shows how central the Red Sea route has become to the kingdom's oil trade since the blockades on both sides began.
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