Houthis Claim Attack on Two Saudi Tankers in Red Sea

Yemen's Houthis said early Thursday they had carried out a military operation targeting two Saudi oil tankers, and maritime security reports confirmed one of the named vessels, the Saudi-flagged tanker Encelia, had been struck in the Red Sea. The Houthis identified the vessels as the Encelia and the Layla, claiming both had violated a naval blockade the Iran-aligned group had imposed on Saudi Arabia, and said they used a combination of ballistic and cruise missiles. A maritime security source said the Encelia transmitted a distress call reporting it had been hit by a missile while operating near the outer port limits of Saudi Arabia's Jizan and was on fire. British risk management group Vanguard said the tanker was struck by an unknown projectile on its starboard side about 70 nautical miles southwest of Al Shuqaiq. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency confirmed an incident in the same area involving a tanker struck by an unknown projectile that caused an onboard fire, which the crew was fighting; no casualties or environmental impact were reported. It remained unclear whether the UKMTO report referred specifically to the Encelia, though details matched. Vanguard said the reported second attack on the Layla remained unconfirmed. The claims followed a Monday announcement by the Houthis of a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, which they said had forced around 10 ships to retreat from Saudi ports, an account Reuters could not verify. Ship-tracking data showed five tankers changed course in the Red Sea on Wednesday, with two redirecting toward the Suez Canal after the warning.