Houthis Escalate Saudi Shipping Campaign With VLCC Strike

UKMTO says a tanker was struck by an unknown projectile about 63 nautical miles west of Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, early Monday, sparking a fire on the main deck. All crew are safe and accounted for, and no environmental impact has been reported.

Maritime security analyst Martine Kelly, Head of Advisory at EOS Risk Group, identified the vessel as the Saudi-flagged, Bahri-owned VLCC AMZAN (IMO 9693745), saying the Houthis attacked the tanker with an anti-ship ballistic missile. The vessel was sailing from Ain Sukhna, Egypt, to Yanbu when it was hit.

The Houthis have separately claimed responsibility for the attack. 

The strike marks another escalation in the Houthis’ renewed campaign against Saudi-linked commercial shipping in the Red Sea and comes after a series of attacks targeting Saudi tankers over the past month.

Kelly said Monday’s attack fits the targeting profile established by the Houthis: vessels that are Saudi-flagged, Saudi-owned or managed, as well as ships calling at Saudi ports.

So far, however, there have been no confirmed attacks against non-Saudi-flagged vessels solely because they called at Saudi Red Sea ports—a distinction she cautioned should not be interpreted as reducing the threat.

The Joint Maritime Information Center has previously assessed the threat in the Bab el-Mandeb and southern Red Sea as SUBSTANTIAL, citing Houthi statements that the waterway is effectively closed to Saudi-affiliated vessels and warning that additional attacks were a “strong possibility.” 

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