Houthis Seize Perim Island as VLCC Rates Top $1M/Day

Escalation Across the Gulf and Red Sea

Maritime risk intelligence firm Windward has detailed a sharp escalation across the Strait of Hormuz, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and northern Middle East Gulf, which it now assesses as a critical-risk operating environment, according to a report carried by Hellenic Shipping News. The developments follow Saudi Arabia’s attempt to reroute crude away from a partially closed Hormuz via the East-West pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu — a workaround that itself came under attack on September 10, when a pumping station was struck and preemptively shut down.

Houthi Forces Seize Perim and Yemen’s Southern Coast

On the same day, Houthi forces launched a major offensive along Yemen’s southern Red Sea coast, capturing the city of Mokha and islands in the Hanish chain. By September 11 they had also taken Perim Island, positioned at the narrowest point of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, roughly 20 kilometers wide. Windward’s Maritime Intelligence Operations Center assesses the group has likely gained control of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coastline and expects it to consolidate its hold on Mokha to project further influence over the Strait.

Houthi political figures have said the campaign aims to pressure Saudi Arabia over its blockade of Yemen, and that the group does not intend to seize the Bab el-Mandeb itself. A Houthi-controlled body indicated on September 10 that the Strait remains open to traffic not linked to Saudi Arabia. Windward assesses with moderate confidence that a full closure to non-Saudi shipping is unlikely in the near term, though it cautions that past targeting has been inconsistent, raising the risk of strikes on unrelated vessels.

U.S.-Iran Strikes Intensify

The unrest coincides with direct U.S. strikes on Iranian tankers. On September 5, U.S. Central Command hit three Iranian crude carriers after Iranian forces launched ballistic missiles at two U.S. Navy warships; a further five IRGC-linked tankers were struck on September 8, bringing the confirmed total to eight vessels. Iran retaliated with a drone strike on a tanker in Iraqi waters, missile launches at a U.S. base in Jordan, and warnings to shipping near Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports. Additional attacks on vessels, including one reported by India’s Ministry of External Affairs involving a Panama-flagged tanker off Oman, followed in subsequent days.

Freight Rates Reach Record Levels

Spot rates for VLCCs transiting Hormuz to load inside the Middle East Gulf crossed $1 million per day — described in the report as unprecedented — up from roughly $500,000 daily the previous month. At that level, freight costs equate to approximately $26 per barrel, against a normal share of just 1 to 3% of oil logistics costs, reflecting sharply elevated insurance and operational risk on the route.

Apeks view — For owners and operators, this is a reminder that risk assessment now needs to be continuous, not periodic. Chokepoint control, strike patterns, and rate spikes are shifting week to week, and decisions on routing, insurance, and crewing depend on timely, verifiable intelligence rather than assumption. Tools that aggregate and structure risk signals can inform judgment, but the call on whether to transit remains a human one, made with current, evidence-based situational awareness.