Ships bound for Saudi Arabia turn around in sign of new Red Sea blockade

A large cargo ship bound for Saudi Arabia was turned back Tuesday by Houthi rebels in Yemen, one of six vessels that reversed course as the Iran-aligned group began enforcing its announced Red Sea blockade, according to ship-tracking data and analysis by the maritime firm Lloyd’s List.

Continuing toward Saudi ports would put the ship at risk of “targeting in any location within the operational reach of the Yemeni Armed Forces,” the Houthi-run Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center warned in an email to the operator of the Chinese-owned vessel, Lloyd’s List reported. The email said the Liu Jiang Kou’s transit clearance had been canceled.

Numerous other vessels on Tuesday passed through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the channel separating the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, even amid the first indications the blockade announced a day earlier would be enforced there.

The Houthi announcement raised concerns that a widening Iran war could add to the economic turmoil caused by ongoing disruptions to oil shipping. Strikes by the Trump administration have failed to loosen Tehran’s chokehold over the Strait of Hormuz, and a Red Sea blockade risks shutting another key shipping route.

Already, 10 percent of global oil shipments have been halted by disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely shut by Iranian threats and mines since the U.S. and Israel launched the war five months ago. If successful, the Houthis’ move could reduce global supply by an estimated 7 percent.

“The Hormuz southern corridor is at a near-standstill after a run of tanker strikes, and a declared Houthi blockade is pushing the risk west into the Red Sea,” maritime intelligence company Windward said in a report Tuesday.

No attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea or Bab el-Mandeb Strait have been reported since the Houthis announced the naval blockade against Saudi Arabia, their longtime adversary.

The Liu Jiang Kou, a vehicle carrier operated by Chinese shipping company Cosco Shipping Specialized Carriers, had been sailing in the Gulf of Aden toward the Red Sea, bound for the port of Jeddah, but made a U-turn, according to ship tracking data. Cosco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The scope of the blockade is not clear. Three Saudi-linked tankers crossed or approached the strait on Tuesday despite the Houthi threat, and other traffic remained steady, according to the Windward report.

In addition to the Liu Jiang Kou, two Hong Kong oil tankers, Xin Tong Yang and New Prime, bound for Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu Port made an abrupt U-turn in the Arabian Sea, Lloyd’s List reported. New Prime later changed its reported destination from Yanbu to the Suez Canal in Egypt.

Lloyd’s also reported that Desh Viraat, an Indian tanker, made a U-turn in the Arabian Sea.

Two additional tankers changed course while heading southeast from Saudi ports toward the strait, according to ship tracking data and Lloyd’s List. One was the Cosco-operated Xin Long Yang, which turned back after departing on Monday. The other, Greek-owned tanker Rodos, made a U-turn about 100 miles into its journey to India and changed its reported destination to the Suez Canal.

Ellen Francis and Victoria Craw contributed to this report.