- New release of FAQs aimed at legitimising their attacks on Israeli-affiliated ships
- Experts say it won’t change the shipowners’ operations in the Red Sea
- The threat level from Houthi attacks remains ‘severe’
In a move to legitimise their control over the Yemeni waters, the Houthis have released a new set of Frequently Asked Questions assuring safe passage to vessels transiting through the Gulf of Aden, Bab el Mandeb, the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea if they are not related to the “sanctioned entities of companies”, reports Lloyd’s List.
They call on the companies to submit a safe passage request to the Houthi-run Humanitarian Operations Co-ordination Center. If a ship is not included in their sanctions list, then they will be given “free service of safe passage,” say the FAQs, claiming the Houthis are following the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. But if the vessels are prohibited, they will be open to Houthi targeting.
This latest communication from the Houthis is an attempt to make their target profile clearer and even reassure some shipowners that they will not find themselves in the crosshairs.
Houthis Assure Safe Passage for ‘Compliant’ Ships”
Control Risks associate analyst Arran Kennedy said the FAQs “and the reassurances in them offer cold comfort to crews who’ve faced Houthi attacks in the Red Sea — including on board vessels that technically fall outside the group’s stated target profile, but have still been assaulted based on tenuous, outdated, or outright false ‘links’ to Israel”.
But will the vessels who are not sanctioned by the Houthis be reassured? According to Kennedy, the simple answer is no.
“This is a textbook Houthi move to dress up attacks on shipping as legitimate, but it doesn’t change the reality for most shipowners and operators, who will still steer clear of the Red Sea.”
The FAQs recommend submitting a request for free passage two days before entering Yemeni waters, keeping AIS transmissions on, making the data of the port of arrival clear, and responding to calls by Yemeni Armed Forces, a moniker used by the Houthis, rather than the UN-recognised government of Yemen.
The info on port of arrival is significant, as earlier in August, Houthis “sanctioned” 64 ships they claimed have direct or indirect affiliations with Israel, including vessels that are related to companies whose ships are calling at Israeli ports.
According to Risk Intelligence senior analyst Dirk Siebels, this is very much in line with their previous communications.
“They have always stated relatively specific targeting criteria and they have targeted ships based on their previous statements.”
The latest release of FAQs also says that Houthi forces will give a “formal advance warning” to vessels they claim are violating the sanctions to “give them opportunity to back down before sanctions are imposed”.
“This statement is aimed at highlighting that their attacks against ships are not indiscriminate as they want to present themselves as a credible political entity and essentially as a government actor,” Siebels said.
The Houthis first announced a sanctions list in March 2025, targeting Israel and supporters of Israel, or any “perpetrators of aggression against Yemen or any Arab or Islamic state”.
In May, they announced a “comprehensive ban on maritime traffic to and from Israel’s Haifa port”.
After months of relative calm on the Red Sea, they attacked two vessels in early July. And a few weeks after these attacks, the group said it would target the ships of any company that dealt with Israeli ports, similar to the doctrine it delivered in May 2024, which was followed by several attacks on vessels that fit that profile.
Following that raft of Houthi “sanctions” announced in August 2025, UKMTO’s Combined Maritime Forces said it was “highly likely” that Houthi intent to target shipping with links to Israel was “critical” and that the Houthis would seek to launch an attack on vessels that fit the profile “if the opportunity presents itself”. CMF said the threat level from Houthi attacks remains “severe.”
A total of 944 transits were recorded in July 2025 according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data, which shows that traffic volumes through the Suez Canal and Bab el Mandeb remain within the range that has become normal since the Houthi campaign began.
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Source: Lloyd’s List
