Announcement from Houthis of a ‘prohibition on maritime navigation to and from the port of Haifa’ does not change the Red Sea risk picture, as owners with links to Israel have been targeted since the crisis began in November 2023, security experts say

The IDF launched more airstrikes against the Houthis on Friday, targeting the ports of Hodeidah and Al Salif

US air strikes in April wreaked havoc on Ras Isa, but the port, which relies on rudimentary infrastructure to slowly unload oil and gas tankers, appears to have resumed operations relatively quickly. Meanwhile, the threats of Israeli air strikes and US sanctions remain

Several major shipping companies have been tentatively returning ships to the Red Sea amid positive security developments, but the Suez Canal Authority is keen to accelerate that trend and is now offering owners incentives to return

Israel has warned ‘all those present’ at Houthi-controlled ports of Ras Isa, Al-Salif and Hodeidah to evacuate. With reports of the Houthis detaining ships under threat of violence, vessels and seafarers are under increased danger

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Questionable flag state oversight; 50-year-old vessels carrying thousands of firearms and a revolving cast of international private security contractors; years of cut-throat competition between companies operating in opaque jurisdictions; and all in an unregulated market that operates in international waters. What could possibly go wrong?

Houthis say Israeli-owned ships are still ‘banned’, essentially marking a return to its December 2023 targeting scope

‘The Houthis have announced that they don’t want to fight anymore. They just don’t want to fight, and we will honour that, and we will stop the bombings,’ Trump told reporters, adding that the Houthis said ‘they will not be blowing up ships anymore’

Vessels calling at Houthi-controlled ports face multiple risks: collateral damage from US and Israeli air strikes, detentions and violence from the Houthis, and US sanctions