Houthi territorial gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast in early-to-mid September 2026, including seizure of the port of Mokha, Perim Island, and Hanish Islands near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, have intensified risks to commercial shipping through one of the world’s key chokepoints. These advances coincide with Iran-linked disruptions at the Strait of Hormuz, pushing Brent crude above $100 per barrel and elevating freight rates on Asia-Saudi routes by roughly 37 percent since late July while prompting some vessels to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope. Attacks on Saudi-linked tankers and infrastructure, such as the Petroline pipeline incident, have already driven insurance premiums higher and reduced transits, with prior data showing Bab al-Mandeb volumes fluctuating between 5-8 million barrels per day. Trader sentiment reflects these supply-chain pressures and the potential for further kinetic strikes on commercial vessels, though partial Yemeni government recoveries near the strait and Houthi statements limiting targets to Saudi-flagged traffic introduce near-term uncertainty ahead of any additional military or diplomatic developments.