Yemen's Houthis weigh tolls on Red Sea shipping, sources say

Just a week after declaring a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels are considering imposing tolls on commercial vessels passing through the southern Red Sea.

Reuters reported Wednesday, citing local sources. According to those sources, the Houthis are exploring plans to charge fees on most ships transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the southern Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. No specific timeline for implementation has been set.

Two regional officials briefed by the Iranian government said Houthi officials who traveled to Iran to attend the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei discussed levying tolls on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait with their Iranian counterparts.

Chinese vessels are expected to be exempt from the tolls. Sources said the Houthis also supported the exemption, adding that China had negotiated directly with the Houthis to ensure its oil tankers could sail through the southern Red Sea without coming under attack. China is the world's largest buyer of Saudi crude. One Arab official also said Houthi officials who recently visited Tehran returned home accompanied by Iranian advisers, who are now on the ground guiding the establishment of a body to administer toll collection on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Afra al-Zuba, the foreign minister-designate of Yemen's internationally recognized government, said the Houthis would seek to gain control over the Red Sea and, if successful, would try to charge ships for passage. The Houthi media office did not respond to a request for comment.

Should the Houthis gain control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait amid Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia would lose two critical oil export routes. A contraction in exports from the world's largest oil producer would also amplify concerns about a global oil supply shortage. Shipping traffic through the Red Sea has yet to fully recover since the Houthis began attacking vessels off the Yemeni coast in November 2023, citing solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza war.