Bab al-Mandab open to all ships except Saudi vessels: Sanaa
Tehran - BORNA - Despite regional and Western assertions regarding maritime instability following Ansarullah's redeployment across the strait, commercial transit through the waterway has increased by 33 percent over the past two weeks, according to data released by the Ministry of Transport in Sanaa. Official figures indicate an uptick in cargo vessels moving between the Gulf of Aden, the northern Red Sea, the Suez Canal, and the Arabian Sea.
Daily traffic data reported by Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar shows vessel transits rose from 27 ships per day prior to September 11—when Ansarullah re-established security control over the passage—to more than 40 commercial ships and oil tankers daily thereafter. More than 500 tankers crossed the corridor during the period, with 408 transits recorded between September 14 and 21 alone.
A Sanaa-based economic source told Al-Akhbar that commercial navigation in the southern Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab currently stands at approximately 70 percent of pre-Hormuz crisis levels recorded before the maritime embargo on Saudi vessels was imposed. The source projected that traffic could rise above 50 vessels daily following a comprehensive regional settlement regarding the Strait of Hormuz, and could double if Riyadh accepts Sanaa's conditions to lift restrictions on Saudi shipping.
On the security front, Yemeni forces have reinforced patrols near international shipping lanes around the islands of Zuqar, Greater and Lesser Hanish, and Mayun, as well as the coastal strip of Dhubab, while opening communication channels with naval authorities in Djibouti and Eritrea. Maritime sources along Yemen’s western coastline confirmed that Sanaa’s naval operations center has stepped up radio advisories to commercial vessels, instructing captains to keep their Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) active.
The Sanaa government, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center (HOCC), reiterated formal security guarantees to international maritime operators, reaffirming its adherence to international freedom of navigation.
The statements directly countered a joint declaration presented by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain on the margins of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York. The 80-nation document—backed by the United States, the Israeli regime, Britain, France, and Germany—called on Sanaa to withdraw its forces from Bab al-Mandab.
Responding to the communiqué, Mohammad al-Farah, a member of Ansarullah’s political bureau, stated that exercising national sovereignty over Yemeni land, territorial waters, and coastlines presents no threat to global commerce. Al-Farah affirmed that Bab al-Mandab falls under Yemeni territorial jurisdiction, emphasizing that no foreign power holds the right to interfere in Yemen's internal affairs so long as freedom of commercial navigation is maintained.
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