The Houthis issued an email warning to shipping companies on Monday not to load or unload at Saudi ports, then on Thursday claimed to have hit two Saudi tankers transiting the Bab al-Mandab strait, with a Riyadh news agency later confirming one was ablaze. Rystad Energy vessel-tracking data shows approximately 2.5m barrels a day of Saudi crude moving south through the strait from the Yanbu terminal, part of the 4.1m barrels of crude and refined products that crossed daily last year. At least five Saudi-linked tankers turned back and one vessel destined for China reversed course after leaving Yanbu, while the Houthi military spokesperson described the escalation as an "equation of 'an eye for an eye'" following an alleged Saudi breach of a four-year ceasefire earlier in July.