Middle East Shipping Faces New Risks as Houthi Attacks Hit Aden, Tanker Strikes Surge in Hormuz

The security risks facing commercial shipping in the Middle East are intensifying, with Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis attacking Aden’s international airport as tanker attacks around the Strait of Hormuz reached their highest weekly level since the US-Iran war began.

The developments are occurring on two critical maritime routes linking the Middle East to global trade. In Yemen, Houthi attacks have accompanied an escalation in fighting with Saudi-backed government forces around the Red Sea coast and the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Around Hormuz, attacks, attempted attacks and harassment of tankers have increased even as Gulf oil producers push to maintain exports.

Houthi Attack Disrupts Aden Airport

Two missiles launched by Yemen’s Houthis targeted Aden International Airport early Wednesday, with one missile landing near the runway shortly before a flight from Cairo was due to arrive, according to Yemen’s Transport Ministry.

Authorities cancelled the landing and diverted the aircraft to Jeddah. Two other aircraft on the runway were also moved away from the area because of fears of further strikes, the ministry said. No casualties were reported.

Reuters reported that the attack came as fighting intensified between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces following a counteroffensive aimed at recapturing territory along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and around Bab el-Mandeb.

The Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile launched toward Saudi Arabia. The coalition said the launch platform was being tracked in Houthi-controlled territory around Sanaa, although it did not provide details of casualties or damage.

The escalation follows weeks of Houthi advances along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and a Saudi-backed counteroffensive supported by coalition airstrikes. Government forces have sought to retake strategic territory around Bab el-Mandeb and the port town of Mocha.

Aden is particularly important because its airport serves as the main international gateway for areas of Yemen outside Houthi control. Any sustained disruption could further complicate humanitarian operations and commercial connections to the country.

The wider conflict is also creating pressure around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic chokepoint connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and a major route for international shipping.

The renewed fighting has already caused a major humanitarian displacement crisis. More than 200,000 people have been displaced since fighting began in early September, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration.

Tanker Attacks Reach Wartime High Around Hormuz

Further east, the risks facing energy shipping have also increased sharply around the Strait of Hormuz.

At least 12 attacks involving oil, liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas tankers were recorded around the strait between September 28 and October 5, according to three maritime security sources who analysed incidents reported from the region.

The figure represents the highest number of such incidents recorded in a single week since the US-Iran war began on February 28, the sources told Reuters.

The incidents included attacks and attempted attacks, as well as drone overflights, surveillance and radio harassment by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, according to the US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center.

“These actions continue to demonstrate Iran’s intent to assert presence along key transit lanes and maintain pressure on transiting vessels,” the JMIC said.

The UN’s International Maritime Organization recorded nine incidents involving vessels during the same week. The IMO generally takes longer to verify and formally record incidents, maritime sources told Reuters.

The previous comparable peak was recorded during the week of July 13, when eight incidents were reported in separate IMO data.

The increase in attacks comes as Gulf oil producers have been pushing more crude through the region despite the security risks. Shipping data showed Gulf oil exports exceeded pre-war levels for roughly half of September, but attacks and logistical constraints are raising questions over how sustainable those flows will be.

India’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that 12 crew members were injured after an unknown projectile struck the Panama-flagged oil tanker On Peace while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Two Chokepoints, Rising Shipping Risks

The developments around Aden and Hormuz involve different actors and separate battlefronts, but together they underscore the growing vulnerability of shipping routes across the Middle East.

Bab el-Mandeb is a key gateway between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, while the Strait of Hormuz is the main maritime passage connecting the Persian Gulf with international waters. Disruptions at either chokepoint can increase shipping costs, insurance premiums and transit risks.

Hormuz carried shipments equivalent to about 20 per cent of global oil and fuel supplies before the war, according to Reuters. Continued attacks could have consequences beyond the immediate conflict zone if shipping companies reduce traffic or Gulf producers are forced to find more expensive alternatives.

Yet oil flows have not stopped. Gulf producers have continued exporting despite the increased danger, partly because alternative routes have limited capacity.

The latest attacks point to a conflict that is increasingly affecting not only military targets but also the infrastructure and shipping networks underpinning global energy trade.

With fighting intensifying in Yemen and tanker attacks reaching a wartime high around Hormuz, commercial vessels operating across the region face a more complicated security environment. For global markets, the key question is whether the escalation remains contained to individual incidents or begins to cause sustained disruption to the movement of oil through the region’s critical maritime chokepoints.

(With inputs from agencies)