Tanker Reports Attack South of Bab el-Mandeb

The Royal Navy's UK Maritime Trade Operations center (UKMTO) has reported an attempted attack on a tanker at a position south of Mokha, Yemen, the latest in a string of strikes widely attributed to Yemen's Houthi rebel group. The militia, which has been advancing rapidly into areas controlled by the internationally-recognized Republic of Yemen government, has not claimed responsibility for the attempted strike.

At about 1650 hours UTC, the company security officer for a vessel operator informed UKMTO that a tanker's crew had spotted "multiple explosions in close proximity to the vessel." The crew is unharmed and there was no environmental impact, UKMTO said. An inquiry is under way.

UKMTO advises vessels to proceed with caution near Bab el-Mandeb. Recent Houthi strikes have focused narrowly on Saudi-linked vessels, both in the group's rhetoric and in its actual attack patterns, but EOS Risk Group's Martin Kelly warns that Houthi target selection criteria have previously tended to expand when hostilities escalate.

The attempted strike followed just hours after the Yemeni government publicly announced the launch of a major military operation targeting Houthi positions, with active support from Saudi forces. The Houthis have been making significant military gains against the IRG in recent weeks, seizing most of Yemen's Red Sea coastline and advancing on key government positions. They have also engaged in a series of effective attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting Aramco's energy infrastructure with significant effects. Over the weekend, a Houthi drone and missile attack reportedly reached a refinery in Riyadh, 500 miles from the border; meanwhile, Saudi forces conducted airstrikes in the vicinity of Taiz, a Yemeni government stronghold that is in increasing danger of encirclement. Houthi fighters have reportedly cut the road between Taiz and the Yemeni seat of government in Aden.

The New York Times reports that Saudi advisors are on the ground in Yemen, assisting government troops with tactics and targeting. Two U.S. officials confirmed that a large cohort of U.S. military intelligence analysts are supporting the Saudi side of the effort with target identification and selection - though the Trump administration has reportedly declined to provide direct combat support for Saudi forces.