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Yemen’s Houthi group claimed Wednesday that it struck the Saudi oil tanker Wafaa with several ballistic missiles off the coast of Yanbu in the northern Red Sea, as it continued a declared maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement on X that the missiles hit the tanker “accurately.”
He described the attack as part of the group’s maritime blockade and its “blockade for blockade” strategy.
There was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities on the claim.
Saree said the Wafaa was the eighth Saudi oil tanker targeted since the blockade began July 22.
He also claimed that 29 Saudi tankers had either been prevented from continuing through the Red Sea and Arabian Sea or forced to turn back.
The group said its blockade around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait had pushed Saudi Arabia to redirect oil tankers toward the northern Red Sea.
Saree vowed that the Houthis would intensify attacks on Saudi tankers in the area to close maritime access routes and prevent their passage, “regardless of the consequences.”
Iran’s parallel closure of the Strait of Hormuz has made Yanbu, on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, the kingdom’s main maritime outlet for oil exports.
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait has also become a crucial transit route for crude shipments. The narrow waterway connects the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean and, through the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean.
The Houthi blockade has threatened Saudi Arabia’s ability to export oil after the closure of Hormuz restricted its other major maritime route.
Saudi seaborne crude exports through the Bab el-Mandeb increased eightfold between March and mid-July 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, according to maritime tracking company Kpler.
Shipments rose to nearly 100 million barrels in June, compared with 7 million barrels in February.
All Saudi seaborne crude exports departed from Yanbu in April and May, Kpler data showed.
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