Houthi advance into Mocha raises shipping risks near Eritrea

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis entered the Red Sea port city of Mocha on Thursday, 10 September, according to two residents quoted by the Associated Press, advancing towards the approaches to Bab al-Mandab. The extent of their control remained unclear in the reporting available to Mesob Journal.

Across the water, Eritrea’s port of Assab sits on the western side of the southern Red Sea, close to the same maritime corridor. That geography gives Eritrea a direct stake in the security of vessels moving between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Assab’s position near the strait places events on Yemen’s coast within its immediate maritime neighbourhood.

Bab al-Mandab connects the Indian Ocean approaches with the Red Sea and the onward route to the Mediterranean through Suez. An expanded Houthi presence along its Yemeni approaches could increase pressure on shipping, although entry into Mocha does not itself establish control of the strait or confirm that commercial passage has stopped.

The stakes have risen as disruption at Hormuz has pushed Saudi Arabia to route more crude through its East–West pipeline to Yanbu on the Red Sea. The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s September outlook says attacks affecting Bab al-Mandab traffic have already reduced exports from Yanbu, with August departures about half July’s level, citing Vortexa estimates.

A closure would threaten the direct southbound route to Asian markets. It would not eliminate every Saudi Red Sea export option: EIA says the kingdom has increased shipments north through Suez, a longer and more expensive journey for Asian customers.

For Eritrea, the connection extends beyond Assab’s location. In its 2019 Red Sea security proposal, Asmara called for coastal states to develop their own naval capabilities, combine resources for shared tasks and agree any outside assistance collectively. That policy places Eritrea’s coastline and regional cooperation within the wider effort to protect international navigation.