Yemen’s Houthi movement said it attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea for defying a naval blockade announced three days earlier. Military spokesperson Yahya Saree identified the vessels as Encelia and Layla and said ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones were used.
Saudi Arabia’s official news agency confirmed that Encelia had been struck, citing the kingdom’s Transport General Authority. All crew members were safe. The Saudi statement condemned attacks on commercial shipping but did not provide corresponding information about Layla, leaving the second Houthi claim without the same confirmation.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre separately received a tanker master’s report that an unknown projectile had started a fire aboard a vessel. Crew members were fighting the blaze. The notice did not identify the ship in the supplied coverage, so it could not independently establish which claimed attack it described.
Saree said fires broke out on both tankers and claimed almost ten other vessels changed course. Those assertions came from the Houthi military and were not verified in the packet. The absence of reported crew casualties did not resolve the extent of damage to Encelia or whether Layla was hit.
The Houthis, formally Ansar Allah, announced a maritime embargo on Saudi shipping on July 20. They said the action answered what they characterised as a long Saudi blockade of Houthi-controlled Yemeni ports and airports. Riyadh rejected the allegation that it was besieging Yemen.
The announcement followed renewed fighting after Yemeni government forces bombed Sanaa airport to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing. The Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of trying to create economic pressure against their administration, while critics noted that the group had rejected a proposal to restore flights between Sanaa and Amman.
Red Sea routes had gained additional importance because fighting around the Strait of Hormuz disrupted Gulf exports. Bab al-Mandeb, between Yemen and the Horn of Africa, narrows to 29 kilometres and carries traffic toward the Suez Canal. About 4.1 billion barrels of crude and refined products passed through it in 2024.
The July 23 episode showed the distinction between a belligerent’s claim and independently established damage. Evidence supported a strike on Encelia and the crew’s safety; the details concerning Layla, the weapons used and diverted ships remained Houthi assertions. Even a selective blockade could increase insurance, routing and supply risks across a globally important corridor.
The narrow strait separates Yemen from Djibouti and Eritrea and funnels northbound and southbound vessels into limited channels. A fire aboard even one tanker can create navigational hazards beyond the damaged ship, particularly when crews and naval forces operate amid conflicting blockade claims.
