Houthis announce blockade of Saudi shipping at Bab el-Mandeb Strait: How it matters for India

Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced that they would be imposing a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on Monday, in retaliation for the blockade and airstrikes on its Sanaa International Airport by the Kingdom. The blockade threatens the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a gateway to the Red Sea through which around 12% of the world’s trade usually passes. Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesperson, said in a video statement that the maritime ban against Saudi Arabia will be effective immediately, describing it as an “equation of ‘an eye for an eye.’”

It is important to note that there were no further explanations on how the embargo might work, but the deputy head of the Houthi media office, Nasruddin Amer, said on X that the Bab al-Mandeb strait will be closed to the Saudis in response to what he called the kingdom’s “unjust blockade on Yemenis for over 10 years.”

Did Saudi Arabia attack Yemen?

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) led a coalition against the Houthis in 2015, while also imposing an air and sea blockade on the war-torn nation. The Houthis, an armed militant group accused by KSA of being backed by Iran, seized Yemen’s capital during their civil war that began in 2014. However, a truce was reached between the KSA and the Houthis in 2022.

That truce has now been threatened, days after the Houthis accused the KSA of striking its crucial Sanaa airport, in an attempt to deboard a flight carrying Houthi leaders back from Iran. Following this, the militant group launched missiles and drones at the KSA’s Abha International Airport on July 13, 2026.

Iran war limits shipping routes

Saudi Arabia has been routing crude through its East-West Pipeline to the Red Sea, a workaround since the Strait of Hormuz became largely blocked after Iran seized control of it.

Around 2.5 million barrels a day are now at risk, according to Rystad Energy, as the Houthis’ fresh blockade on Bab al-Mandeb threatens to cut off this last remaining Saudi export route as well, leaving the kingdom facing pressure on both its major shipping lanes at once.

How does this affect India?

The development may have major consequences for India, as the Strait of Hormuz, another vital chokepoint, also remains uncertain amidst ongoing conflict between the US and Iran.

India imports more than 90 per cent of the crude oil it consumes, with a large share coming from West Asia, so when tensions or conflict disrupt shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key route linking the Red Sea to the Suez Canal, oil prices tend to rise, and that pushes up India’s import bill, weakens the rupee, strains government finances, and adds to inflation.

The same strait also carries a large share of India’s exports to Europe, so if ships are forced to take the longer route around Africa instead of through the Red Sea, transit times will stretch out, and Indian exporters will also face delivery delays.

However, higher costs wouldn’t stop at oil alone; sectors like electronics and machinery could see import and shipping expenses rise, and even certain food items might see prices creep up if freight costs keep climbing, especially if trouble in the Bab el-Mandeb coincides with disruptions in the nearby Strait of Hormuz.

Why is the Bab el-Mandeb Strait so important?

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is a narrow waterway connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, located right between Yemen and Djibouti at the southern end of the Red Sea. Spanning just 26 to 32 kilometers wide with an average depth of 150 meters, the passage links the Arabian Peninsula with the African continent. It holds immense strategic importance for global maritime trade, acting as a crucial corridor for oil and natural gas shipments as well as general commercial cargo.

However, the strait faces constant threats from the ongoing conflict in Yemen, piracy, and political instability in neighboring countries, making it a battleground for competing geopolitical interests. Thus, any blockade or disruption along this vital chokepoint threatens global shipping lines.

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