Crew of seized vessel confirm Houthi weapon smuggling routes
The men were questioned after their vessel was seized by the Yemeni National Resistance Forces
Houthi-affiliated crew suggested the Iranian Revolutionary Guard transports weapons to the Somali coast and even through Djibouti
THE crew of a vessel seized by the Yemeni National Resistance Forces, a paramilitary group loyal to the Yemeni government, claim that Iran transports weapons to the Houthis via Somalia and even Djibouti.
Their vessel, Al-Sharwa, was intercepted last month carrying 750 tonnes of munitions and hardware, which US Central Command said contained hundreds of advanced cruise, anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles, as well as drone engines, radar systems and communications equipment.
The NRF claims service manuals found in the shipment were written in Farsi, the official language of Iran, and that many of the systems were manufactured by a company affiliated with the Iranian Ministry of Defense.
Centcom said the shipment was intended for use by the Houthis.
The so-called “cell members”, or crew, said there were three smuggling routes used to get weapons to the Houthis. The first is direct from Bandar Abbas to Saleef, while the second involved the Iranian Revolutionary Guard transporting weapons via vessels to the Somali coast.
Lloyd’s List Intelligence senior risk and compliance analyst Bridget Diakun said “suspicious activity in the Gulf of Aden is not uncommon, and there are instances where vessels disappear for several days at a time in the area”.
“The location of where these ships disable and enable AIS suggests smuggling activity happening off Somali coast,” she said.
The third route, which Al-Sharwa crew claim this shipment took, involves the IRGC transporting weapons to Djibouti under commercial cover.
This shipment was reportedly the 12th of its kind and was disguised as workshop equipment.
“The cell members noted that international naval patrols showed no interest in intercepting them at sea, and when crossing the Bab el Mandeb Strait at night, they took the western side of the international shipping lane near Eritrea to evade coastguard patrols and the National Resistance navy,” the NRF said in a statement via X.
The NRF said the crew also “mocked” claims of domestic weapons manufacturing made by the Houthis, with it instead becoming clear to them that all the weapons were being smuggled from Iran directly.
