Ships request Houthis by email safe crossing in the Red Sea

Othe Yemeni Houthis rebels, supported by Iran, control maritime traffic in the Red Sea through a system that allows ships to request, via email, authorization for safe passage, today reported Wall Street Journal.

The Houthis, which control vast territories in Yemen, imposed a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia earlier this year.

Since then, some vessels have contacted the group before crossing the Red Sea, seeking to secure a safe passage, according to the American newspaper.

When they respond, the Houthis usually do so within 24 hours, reported the newspaper, which was based on testimonies from sailors and emails.

The Wall Street Journal cites, for example, a message in which the captain of an unidentified vessel states that his vessel “has no connection with Israel, the United Kingdom or the United States” and requests “confirmation of a safe passage.”.

Ships suspected of having links to these three countries, all of which have carried out attacks in Yemen in recent years, have been targeted by the Houthis on several occasions.

In another e-mail, the Yemeni pro-Iran fighters respond positively to the request of a Chinese container vessel: “We hope you are well. We are pleased that they have understood the criteria that define which ships are subject to the ban”, they wrote.

The Houthis report that the vessel has a transit permit valid for seven days and add: “We also invited you to sign up for our email alert service to receive the latest information and updates.”.

The fragile truce in 2022 was broken in July, when the Houthi allowed an Iranian aircraft to land in Sana, the Yemeni capital, thus challenging Saudi Arabia's control over the country's airspace.

The anti-governmental fighters then announced a blockade against Saudi Arabia and intensified the attacks on vessels, territory and oil facilities in the country, and took control of the entire Yemeni coast in the Red Sea, which considerably strengthened their ability to attack ships transiting this strategic maritime route.