Saudi oil tanker Wafa attacked off Yanbu, Houthis say

Yemen's Houthis said on Wednesday they attacked the Saudi oil tanker Wafa in the northern Red Sea off Yanbu with ballistic missiles, as the group said it would expand its declared maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a video statement that the group had “successfully targeted” the tanker. He said it was the eighth Saudi oil tanker targeted since the Houthis declared the blockade on July 22.

Saree said Saudi Arabia had diverted oil tankers towards the northern Red Sea, and said the Houthis would now escalate attacks there to try to stop their passage.

The claim comes as Saudi Arabia relies on Red Sea routes after Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Yanbu, on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast, has become the main exit point for Saudi oil, with the Bab al-Mandeb Strait a key transit route for crude.

Maritime tracker Kpler said Saudi seaborne crude exports through Bab al-Mandeb rose eightfold between March and mid-July 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. Kpler data said exports through the strait reached nearly 100 million barrels in June, up from 7 million barrels in February, and that all Saudi seaborne crude exports departed from Yanbu in April and May.

The Wafa claim is separate from an attack on the Indian-flagged MSV Faize Noore Oliya, which sank in the Red Sea off Yemen on Tuesday. A local official in Mokha said all 14 crew members were rescued, and Yemen's internationally recognised government blamed the Houthis for that attack.