By Al-Fassel | 2025-05-02

The United States on April 28 sanctioned three vessels for delivering petroleum products to Houthi-controlled ports in violation of a US authorization for fuel deliveries to Houthi-controlled Yemen ports that expired April 4.

Since that date, Marshall Islands-registered Zaas Shipping & Trading Co has facilitated the delivery of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) to the Red Sea port of Ras Issa using the San Marino-flagged Tulip BZ, the US Treasury said.

Mauritius-registered Bagsak Shipping Inc has facilitated the delivery of gas oil to the same port using the Panama-flagged Maisan.

And Marshall Islands-registered Great Success Shipping Co has facilitated the delivery of gas oil to Ras Issa using the Panama-flagged White Whale.

Tulip BZ (former name Gas Line) previously transported petrochemicals for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), while Maisan was involved in evading sanctions on Russian oil exports, according to the Treasury.

The Houthis have "deployed missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and naval mines to attack commercial shipping interests in the Red Sea, threatening global freedom of navigation and the integrity of international commerce," it said.

"The Houthis also profit significantly from the shipment of goods through ports they control, profiting, in particular, from the discharge of refined petroleum products."

In Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, the group has been blocking cheap supplies of domestic gas from government-controlled areas in favor of imports via al-Hodeidah port, which they control, forcing people to buy it.

The US action "underscores our commitment to disrupt the Houthis' efforts to fund their dangerous and destabilizing attacks in the region,” said Treasury Deputy Secretary Michael Faulkender.

Funding fuels Houthis' war machine

Thirteen tankers carrying some 650,000 tons of petroleum products worth over $350 million were anchored off Ras Issa in violation of sanctions, Yemen's Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said April 27.

"These illegal shipments represent a major source of funding for the Houthi war machine, which has continued to kill Yemenis for more than 10 years, destabilize regional security… and threaten the freedom of global trade," he said April 28.

The Iran-backed group has generated nearly $790 million to date from customs duties and taxes through these ports between May 2023 and June 2024, according to the "Recovering Stolen Assets – Regain Yemen" Initiative.

Al-Eryani warned that dozens of crew members, including Indian nationals, remain trapped at Ras Issa port as the Houthis forcibly detain vessels for illegal fuel unloading in an area of active military operations.

"The Houthi militia does not hesitate to use civilians and workers in vital sectors, regardless of their nationalities, as hostages and pressure cards to achieve political and economic goals," he said in an April 29 post on X.