The Yemeni Armed Forces announced on Wednesday that they had targeted the Saudi oil tanker Wafa in the northern Red Sea, off the coast of Yanbu, with several ballistic missiles, saying the vessel was hit accurately.
In a statement issued Wednesday morning, the Yemeni Armed Forces said the total number of Saudi oil vessels targeted since the start of the maritime blockade on July 22 had reached eight. They added that 29 Saudi oil vessels had been prevented from proceeding or forced to turn back in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea.
The statement said the Saudi enemy had sought to redirect its oil vessels toward the northern Red Sea after the Yemeni Armed Forces succeeded in tightening the maritime blockade against it from the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the southern Red Sea.
The Yemeni Armed Forces warned that their operations against Saudi oil vessels in the northern Red Sea would continue and escalate, saying they aimed to close all maritime access routes and prevent Saudi vessels from passing through. They described the objective as establishing a blockade-for-blockade equation, regardless of the consequences and repercussions, while stressing their reliance on Allah.
The announcement comes amid an escalation of Yemeni maritime operations targeting Saudi oil shipping. The shift by Saudi vessels toward the northern Red Sea followed the tightening of restrictions around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, prompting Yemen to extend its targeting operations farther north in an effort to prevent Saudi oil shipments from bypassing the maritime blockade.
