A view from the island of Saba off the Yemeni coast. Houthi forces control only a small segment of coastal areas of Yemen, limiting the threat they can pose to commercial shipping in the vital waterway.
Compared with past hijackings in the wider Red Sea region , the incident was comparatively small: On Nov. 17, Houthi fighters seized Saudi and South Korean-flagged tugboats, as well as a South Korean drilling rig in tow, near the island of Uqban. Following diplomatic efforts by Riyadh and Seoul, the Houthis released the vessels and their crews on Nov. 20, noting an internal investigation had revealed that the ships entered Yemeni waters only due to "bad weather." Indeed, apart from the seizure highlighting the occasional impact that Yemen's conflict can have on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the incident does not presage a new age of piracy at the mouth of the Red Sea.
