Houthis take the Bab el-Mandeb coast and Italy sends warships to escort its vessels
Rome is deploying its navy to the southern Red Sea chokepoint after Houthi forces seized most of Yemen's Red Sea coastline in a matter of days.
Assembled by Claude from 9 sources at 9 outlets · Friday, September 18, 2026, Evening edition, 5:16 PM EDT · no human byline
What happened
Houthi forces took only a few days to seize most of Yemen's Red Sea coast, including the shores of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait asiatimes.com. Italy has decided to send naval ships to protect freedom of navigation through the strait before it becomes impassable marineinsight.com. An Italian minister called for more ships to protect Red Sea navigation amid concern over the waterway, which is threatened by the widening Middle East conflict reuters.com. Italian coverage described the deployment as an active defence of Italian shipping against the Houthi advance and the fear of an economic and energy impact democrata.es.
Italy is not acting alone. The European Union's Red Sea mission raised its alert level as the Houthis expanded their maritime foothold jpost.com. The stated trigger on the Italian side is commercial rather than political: the navy is being mobilised to secure the passage of Italian ships through the strait democrata.esmarineinsight.com.
Why it matters to investors
The traffic data show a split recovery. Suez Canal transits totalled 1232 in August, up 28% year on year, but the revival of Bab el Mandeb traffic has stalled lloydslistintelligence.com. Anadolu reported that the Yemen conflict has brought shipping through the strait to a near standstill aa.com.tr.
That matters because the two chokepoints are now constrained at the same time. Hormuz has been the focus of naval escorting in the Gulf, and the southern gate of the Red Sea is the alternative route for cargo moving between Asia and Europe. With one under attack and the other under armed advance, the routing options that absorbed earlier disruptions have narrowed asiatimes.comaa.com.tr.
What to watch
The fighting on shore continues. Agence France-Presse reported 63 people killed in the latest clashes between Yemeni government forces and the Houthis lbcgroup.tv. The humanitarian position is deteriorating alongside it: more than 112,000 people have been displaced by the fighting, with thousands fleeing to Djibouti, and an estimate cited by Al Jazeera puts 22 million Yemenis, close to half the population, in urgent need of aid aljazeera.com.
Three markers follow. The first is whether the Italian deployment is matched by other European navies, given the minister's call for more ships reuters.com. The second is whether Bab el Mandeb transits begin to recover as Suez transits have, since the two series have now diverged lloydslistintelligence.com. The third is whether the alert level set by the EU mission is raised again as the Houthi foothold extends along the coast jpost.comasiatimes.com.
Sources
- reuters.com: Italy's minister calls for more ships to protect Red Sea navigation | Reuters (2026-09-18)
- marineinsight.com: Italy To Deploy Warships In Bab-El-Mandeb To Protect Its Commercial Vessels From Houthis (2026-09-18)
- democrata.es: Italy deploys its Navy in Bab el Mandeb - Demócrata (2026-09-18)
- asiatimes.com: Houthi advance aids Iran but saps rebel support in Yemen - Asia Times (2026-09-18)
- lloydslistintelligence.com: Red Sea Brief: 18 September 2026 - Lloyd's List Intelligence (2026-09-18)
- aa.com.tr: Yemen conflict brings Bab el-Mandeb shipping traffic to near standstill - Anadolu Ajansı (2026-09-18)
- aljazeera.com: More than 112000 displaced by Yemen fighting; thousands flee to Djibouti - Al Jazeera (2026-09-18)
- jpost.com: EU Red Sea mission raises alert level as Houthis expand maritime foothold | The Jerusalem Post (2026-09-18)
- lbcgroup.tv: 63 killed in latest clashes between Yemen govt, Houthis : AFP -... - LBCI Lebanon (2026-09-18)