THE threat posed to global shipping lanes by Yemen’s Houthi rebels is growing dramatically thanks to an increasingly diverse network of political alliances, military suppliers and financial support networks that now extend through multiple terrorist organisations.

Strategic alliances with terrorist group al-Qaida in the Arab Peninsula and al-Shabaab in Somalia are extending the Houthi’s ability to strike ships far beyond previous attacks which have now reached a scale of risk “not seen since the Second World War”.

According to a UN panel of experts report seen by Lloyd’s List, the Houthis have benefited from training and technical help provided by the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, as well as Hezbollah and pro-Iran groups in Iraq.

Financial networks now extend across multiple jurisdictions including Djibouti, Iran and Türkiye using various banks, shell companies, financial facilitators and shipping companies.

The report comes as the Houthis are once again warning that they intend to intensify their attacks to support Hamas and Hezbollah in their resistance against Israeli actions in the region.

A Houthi spokesman announced on Sunday that the Yemeni rebel group would maintain its maritime blockade against Israeli vessels in response to “intelligence information” regarding Israeli shipping companies selling their assets to other companies.

The Houthis would not recognise any changes of ownership and warned against any collaboration with these companies, warned Yahya Sarea, military spokesperson of the group, in a televised address.

The UN Panel of Experts report, which has been circulated among government intelligence services by the UN Security Council but has not yet been made public, also confirms recent intelligence indicating that the Houthi’s are strengthening ties with the resurgent terrorist group al-Qaida in the Arab Peninsula and al-Shabaab in Somalia.

The “opportunistic alliance” between the Houthis and al-Qaida is limited to security intelligence and training, however, unidentified intelligence sources cited by the UN panel of experts confirm that the increasing coordination between the two groups since the beginning of 2024 has now extended to discussions regarding potential al-Qaida support in attacks against maritime targets.

The report notes growing concern over the growing range of al-Qaida attacks using uncrewed aerial vehicles.

In a bid to extend their area of operation, the Houthis are also “evaluating options to carry out attacks at sea form the Somali coast”, the report states.

While the scope of the UN report only analysed the period from September 2023 through July 2024, more recent intelligence reports confirms that an expanding Houthi presence in Somalia has been taking root over recent weeks.

Leveraging its strategic alliance with local actors, including al-Shabaab and Somali pirate networks, the Houthis are seeking more significant influence in the region, particularly in the Puntland and Bari regions.

According to an intelligence report published by Seahawk Maritime Intelligence, the Houthis are extending financial, logistical and military support to both al-Shabaab and Daesh factions operating within Somalia.

“A recent meeting on October 29, 2024 at the al-Yocameero headquarters confirmed Houthis’ direct involvement in coordinating resources and military assets for these groups,” states the report, which details increasing financial support and supply of weapons between the two groups.

Intelligence cited by the Seahawk report confirms that the Houthis, in partnership with al-Shabaab and Somali pirates, have revitalised piracy operations along critical Red Sea and Indian Ocean shipping lanes.

“This strategic alliance allows the Houthis to exert control over shipping routes while financing their operations through illicit piracy proceeds and arms smuggling,” states the report.

While the UN panel of experts has to date never linked Houthi operations to Somali piracy, the UN approved intelligence has repeatedly cited examples of weapons smuggling routes operating between Iran and Houthi controlled-Yemen, via Somali bases as far back as 2018.

“The expanding Houthi presence in Somalia signals a strategic escalation that poses immediate and long-term threats to regional stability and security,” warns the Seahawk report. “The alignment of Houthi, al-Shabaab, and Daesh interests underpins a coordinated front that is poised to disrupt maritime commerce, strengthen local militant capabilities and challenge international forces.”

The UN Panel’s investigation, meanwhile, revealed that the Houthis are using various networks of individuals and entities operating from multiple jurisdictions, including Djibouti, Iran, Iraq, Türkiye and Yemen, to finance their activities.

They employ various banks, shell companies, exchange companies, shipping companies and financial facilitators. The panel interviewed the officials of a few exchange and shipping companies and banks, who, requesting anonymity, confirmed the details of these operations.

The Houthi command even established a special committee to augment its military spending.

The panel’s sources conveyed that the Houthis allegedly collect illegal fees from “a few shipping agencies to allow their ships to sail through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden without being attacked”.

Sources further informed the panel that these shipping agencies coordinate with a company affiliated with a top-ranking Houthi leader and that the fees are deposited in various accounts in multiple jurisdictions through the hawala network and through adjustments involving trade-based money-laundering.

While the UN Panel has not been able to independently verify this information, the sources estimate the Houthis’ earnings from these illegal safe-transit fees to be about $180m per month.

The alleged payment of fees is not the only direct interaction between the growing Houthi operations and shipping companies. According to the report, Houthi-controlled companies are importing oil and liquefied petroleum gas using false country-of-origin certificates, through Hodeidah and Ras Isa, sometimes bypassing inspections by the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism.

This occurs in two ways: some vessels travel to the specified country, turning off their Automatic Identification System transponders to avoid detection, while others conduct ship-to-ship transfers at sea without visiting the ports indicated in the country-of-origin certificates.

The UN Panel is investigating vessels linked to Hezbollah and high-ranking Houthi leaders and has gathered information on several individuals, entities and routes. However, because of incomplete evidence linking the entire supply chain and to potential risk to some confidential sources, the panel did not disclose these details at this stage.

Overall, the UN Panel concludes that Yemen’s Houthi rebels are transforming themselves into a “powerful military organisation” due to “unprecedented” military support from outside sources.