The Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen on Wednesday claimed a “precise hit” on a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces conducted a military operation targeting the Saudi oil tanker ‘Wafaa’ north of the Red Sea off the Yambu area using several ballistic missiles,” according to the Houthi statement carried by Middle East news outlet Al Bawaba.
The Houthis “achieved a precise hit,” the spokesman said.
NCC WAFA is a Saudi-flagged products tanker, which was last seen transmitting on July 19, southbound in the Red Sea toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to maritime intelligence group Windward.
Set OilPrice.com as a preferred source in Google .
The tanker has been dark since July 19. After the July 22 blockade announcement by the Houthis, the WAFA likely U-turned and headed back north through Saudi coastal waters, “where the missiles found her anyway, hundreds of kilometers from the declared blockade zone,” Windward’s analysts said.
“The Houthi statement explicitly tied the strike to Saudi tankers rerouting north to avoid Bab el-Mandeb, and vowed escalation in the northern Red Sea “regardless of consequences.”” said the analysts.
“Turning around was the mitigation. It’s now the stated target set. And going dark didn’t take this vessel off the targeting picture.”
The attack with ballistic missiles is part of the Houthi threat to disrupt Saudi-linked shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint to the Arabian Sea.
Since the Houthis announced the blockade two weeks ago, the group has targeted a total of 8 Saudi tankers, the Houthi spokesman said. The group has also intercepted as many as 29 Saudi oil tankers, forcing them to turn back or preventing them from moving southward toward Bab el-Mandeb.
The Houthi threat hasn’t abated amid reports of U.S.-Iran talks, and more tankers laden with Saudi oil appeared to have made the transit through the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint in dark mode.
Since the Houthis announced they would attempt to choke off Saudi shipments, Saudi Arabia has re-routed part of its exports northward to Egypt and the Suez Canal while the other vessels have increasingly gone dark while transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to the south.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
- Hormuz Tanker Traffic Remains Subdued Despite Reports of Peace Talks
- U.S. Moves to Keep Tungsten Scrap and Battery Metals at Home
- Oil Price Rally Boosts Glencore’s First-Half Profit
