Yemen's Houthi rebels are monetising their blockade of the Red Sea by operating a multi-billion-dollar tolling operation on the strategic waterway.
This is according to Maritime Executive, which citied an as-yet-unreleased United Nations report suggesting that the rebels are collecting covert payments from shipowners in exchange for the right to pass safely.
The more than 500-page report for the UN Security Council on Houthi capabilities, finances and alliances, compiled by a panel of experts, depicts an organisation that has grown rapidly both locally and abroad. According to the report, the Houthi militia has grown an international network for shipping, money laundering, smuggling, recruitment and piracy.
The group’s latest revenue earner is linked to its blockade of shipping on the Red Sea, enforced by its missile and drone attacks. There were more than 130 strikes on merchant ships between November 2023 and July 2024.
"The group’s shift to actions at sea increased their influence in the region … such a scale of attacks, using weapon systems on civilian vessels, had never occurred since the Second World War,” the panel wrote.
Houthi leaders have claimed that attacks are targeted at ships linked to Israel and its allies. However, the group has repeatedly attacked a wide range vessels with no connection to Israel or the West, including ships carrying cargo for Houthi-supporting countries such as Iran.
According to the UN panel experts, shipowners can discreetly pay the rebel group a fee for a safe transit, suggesting that those who do not pay might have an unsafe voyage through the region.
The report also provides details of the Houthis' ties to terrorist organisations such as Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab and Hezbollah and pirate groups in Somalia.
