Houthis deny Red Sea transit fee plans for ships

Yemen’s Houthi movement said on Saturday it is not planning to charge commercial ships to pass through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, pushing back against reports that a toll system was being considered.

The denial came in a formal statement issued by the Houthi-run Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center. The statement said transits through the waterway remain free and voluntary, and it cautioned shipping companies against sending money to entities it described as unauthorized.

Denial follows earlier report on a possible fee model The Houthi statement was released after a report earlier this week said the group was exploring a transit-fee structure. That report described the concept as being modeled on Iranian maritime practices.

Officials did not provide additional detail in the Saturday denial on how the group would handle shipping security or communications with commercial operators. The message focused instead on rejecting the idea of paid passage and warning against payments outside of what it considers legitimate channels.

Bab al-Mandeb’s role in oil and cargo flows

The Bab al-Mandeb Strait is widely treated by the shipping industry as a strategic chokepoint linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. It is used for oil shipments and general cargo moving between Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

Because the strait sits on a major corridor for international trade, any claims about tolls or restrictions can quickly raise concerns among shipowners, insurers, and cargo interests. In practice, uncertainty over costs, safety, and routing can influence whether companies keep using a passage or shift vessels elsewhere.

Blockade claim and Saudi-led response

The question of potential tolls intensified after the Houthis declared a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, according to the source material. Saudi Arabia has increasingly used the Bab al-Mandeb route as an alternative to the disrupted Strait of Hormuz, the source said.

Against that backdrop, Saudi Arabia announced this week that it had formed a 14-nation maritime coalition. The stated aim of the alliance is to safeguard freedom of navigation across the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Shipping activity still below pre-2023 levels

Even with the Houthis insisting that passage is not being obstructed, the source material says shipping traffic in the region remains well below pre-2023 levels. That gap is attributed to ongoing security concerns among international maritime operators.

For shipping companies, the immediate uncertainty is whether conditions in the Bab al-Mandeb and surrounding waters will stabilize enough to restore confidence and volume. The Houthis’ denial addresses the question of fees, but it does not by itself resolve wider operational risk that has weighed on traffic through the area.