Houthis Seize Mocha Port, Threatening Critical Red Sea Oil Routes

The loss of Mocha compromises the maritime corridor connecting the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, a path that carries roughly 80 percent of the liquefied natural gas bound for Europe. Since 2024, persistent Houthi aggression has already reduced Suez Canal revenues by over 60 percent, stripping Egypt of $7 billion in annual income. The occupation of Perim Island, which splits the 12-mile-wide strait, provides the insurgents with the infrastructure to monitor or mine the passage at will.

Energy markets reacted sharply to the news, with Brent crude climbing to $108 per barrel and WTI exceeding $103. The development leaves Saudi Arabia particularly exposed; Riyadh had been routing 70 percent of its crude exports through the port of Yanbu following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. With the Houthis now targeting this secondary artery, the global energy supply chain faces a profound destabilization. Meanwhile, the broader regional fallout continues as Qatar seeks long-term LNG supply contracts from the United States, following an Iranian strike that crippled the Ras Laffan complex and halted its export capacity for the next three to five years.