Yemen's Houthis granting ships safe passage via email: Report

Washington: Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis are effectively policing maritime transit of the Red Sea through a system under which vessels can request safe passage via email, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The Houthis -- who control swaths of Yemen -- declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia earlier this year, after which some ships began contacting them before transiting the Red Sea, the Journal reported.

If the Houthis reply, they typically do so within 24 hours, the newspaper said, citing crew member accounts and emails it reviewed.


The Journal included one email in which the master of an unnamed ship declared it "has no connections with Israel, the United Kingdom and the United States of America" and said "we kindly request your confirmation for safe passage."

Vessels allegedly linked to those countries -- all three of which have carried out strikes in Yemen in recent years -- have been repeatedly targeted by the Houthis.

In another email, the Houthis responded to a separate request from a Chinese container ship: "We hope you are keeping well. We are glad that you understood the criteria for the scope of the vessels ban," they said.

The Houthis said the ship had a permit for transit that is valid for seven days, adding: "We also invite you to subscribe to our email alert service to receive the latest news and updates."

In July, a fragile 2022 truce fell apart after the Houthis allowed an Iranian plane to land in Yemen's capital Sanaa in defiance of Saudi control over Yemeni airspace.

The Houthis later announced their blockade of Saudi Arabia and began hitting its ships, territory and oil facilities, before seizing Yemen's entire Red Sea coast, which expanded their ability to target ships transiting the key waterway.