YEMEN : A US-sanctioned Iranian container ship has entered the Red Sea for the first time in its history following the blockade that Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen announced against Saudi Arabian shipping.
Maritime intelligence company Windward said the vessel, which it is not identifying, crossed the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Tuesday. The 299-metre vessel, built in 2009, entered Yemen’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The move breaks a six-month pattern that saw the ship confined to the Middle East Gulf to China corridor and comes at a time when mainstream tankers are U-turning away from the Saudi Red Sea port of Yanbu.
Reporting has linked the boxship to the transport of suspected rocket-fuel-material cargoes. “Windward assesses the transit as a potential indicator of Iran-Houthi coordination,” the company added. Windward has tracked the ship calling in Iran and China nine times over six months.
There have been nine AIS gaps of between eight and 36 hours. Windward also logged seven “loitering instances”, including a 12-day period spent near Chabahar, Iran, in March.
There have also been repeated “meetings” for possible ship-to-ship transfers with other Iranian-flagged vessels. The company also recorded one spoofing of its call sign in March 2021, but this only lasted less than an hour.
“The anomaly is the corridor itself: this is the vessel’s first Yemen EEZ entry and first Bab al-Mandeb crossing, with no prior Red Sea activity on record,” Windward said.
“The timing — one day after the blockade announcement, on a route it had never approached — is hard to square with routine scheduling.”
Windward noted that the ship has a documented evasion profile, with a high smuggling risk, dark activity, identity manipulation, STS-pattern meetings and reported weapons-material links.
This suggests three possibilities for its first transit of a Houthi-declared blockade zone the day after the announcement: weapons smuggling to the Houthis, a tacit safe-passage arrangement with Iran-backed Houthi forces, or deliberate exploitation of reduced traffic and scrutiny in the corridor for sanctions evasion.
The post-transit destination is not yet confirmed.
AIS data showed an arrival in Suez on 24 July, although Windward does not view this as reliable.
Confirming a Suez call would “show whether this is a through-transit toward the Mediterranean or a Red Sea/East Africa port call,” the company concluded.
War risk insurance costs have already risen in the past 24 hours, with risk assessments for Saudi ports being re-evaluated, insurance industry sources told Reuters.
“Vessels calling at Saudi Arabian ports are advised to reconsider transiting the Red Sea and to consider implementing enhanced mitigation measures,” maritime security company Ambrey said, adding that it assessed vessels calling at Saudi Arabian ports “were at high risk”.
Three shipping sources told Reuters that Yanbu was still operating to load oil onto ships that were already in the Red Sea or arriving via Suez.
Most vessels have gone dark.
“While an actual blockade seems unlikely given the resources required for such an undertaking, a step-up in hostilities could see Houthis targeting Saudi-associated ships transiting the Bab el-Mandeb strait,” shipbroker Clarksons said.
In recent months, an average of 10 crude tankers have sailed through Bab el-Mandeb daily.
Source : Trade Winds
