Houthis in attempt to tighten the grip in Red sea are now insisting any ships entering their territorial waters need to obtain a permit. Ships will have to obtain a permit from Yemen’s Maritime Affairs Authority before entering Yemeni waters, Houthi telecommunications minister claimed yesterday. Yemeni waters extend halfway across the Bab al-Mandab strait, one of shipping’s most important chokepoints. 

The Lebanese-owned, Greek-managed, Belize-registered ship is the first constructive total loss in the ongoing Red Sea shipping crisis that has seen a huge swathe of the global merchant fleet give the region a wide berth.

“Operations are escalating and continuing in the Red and Arab Seas, the Gulf of Aden, and Bab al-Mandab, until the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted,” read a statement from the Houthi militia yesterday.

More than 60 ships have been targeted by the Houthis in the five months since war broke out between Israel and Hamas.