Houthis ready attacks on Red Sea shipping - reports

Yemen's Houthi rebels have completed preparations to attack commercial vessels transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, CNBC reported on Tuesday, citing a maritime security advisory.

The advisory from the U.S. Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center said sources indicated the Houthis had deployed missiles and drones near the strategic waterway and were ready to target shipping.

The news comes a day after the Houthis warned shipowners against calling at Saudi Arabian ports, which would place millions of barrels of Saudi exports at risk.

On Monday, the Houthis had said that they would put a ban on maritime traffic from Saudi Arabia. Those shipments have become increasingly important as risks to tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz have grown.

Saudi crude exports from the Yanbu terminal on the Red Sea rose to 3.5 million barrels per day in June from about 240,000 bpd a year earlier, according to Kpler data cited by CNBC.

The JMIC said commercial vessels continued using established shipping lanes through the southern Red Sea without disruption over the past two days and maintained its threat assessment at "moderate."

Still, Kpler data showed traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb fell 34% on Tuesday from the previous day, CNBC reported.

Separately, attacks on shipping around the Strait of Hormuz have intensified. Since July 6, 12 vessels have been attacked in and around the waterway, leaving two seafarers dead and more than a dozen injured, according to the International Maritime Organization.

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