Seatrads

The Houthi have said they will ban US vessels from navigation of the southern Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and Gulf Aden, and that it will target US Navy ships in response to US airstrikes on Yemen.

US attacks on Yemen on March 15 have claimed 53 lives, according to the Houthi, as US President Trump increased military action to reopen the Red Sea to commercial shipping.

Posting on Truth Social, the US President said: “The Houthis have choked off shipping in one of the most important Waterways of the World, grinding vast swaths of Global Commerce to a halt, and attacking the core principle of Freedom of Navigation upon which International Trade and Commerce depends.”

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the US would continue to target the Houthi until their threats to shipping were withdrawn.

The White House posted an article listing Houthi attacks on international shipping and their impact on world trade, including the drop in Red Sea and Suez Canal transits. Ships continue to avoid the southern Red Sea due to the risk of escalation at short notice in the region, although no Houthi attacks on merchant ships have been reported this year.

The announcement of the Houthi ‘ban’ on US vessels follows a statement issued by the group last week that it was resuming a ‘ban’ on Israeli vessels in the Red and Arabian Seas, Bab al-Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden until Israel allows aid to flow into Gaza.

Related:Houthi to resume attacks on Israeli vessels in Red Sea

In January this year, the Houthi lifted its ‘ban’ on international shipping transiting the Red Sea as the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas progressed, but warned that aggression against its forces in Yemen by the US or UK would make the nations’ vessels subject to attack once again.

A further signal of progress was seen in January when the crew of car carrier Galaxy Leader were released after 14 months in Houthi captivity.

The US strikes and Houthi response are in line with expectations when the Israel-Hamas ceasefire was announced - security experts said at the time that the region remained volatile, the ceasefire was fragile, escalation could happen quickly, and Israeli, US and UK ships were particularly at threat.

Since November 2023, there have been 112 incidents recorded in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, including six serious incidents, 42 minor incidents, 46 attempted attacks, and four hijackings, according to the Joint Maritime Information Centre (JMIC). Four mariners have been killed and two seriously injured in Houthi attacks on merchant ships.