Perim Island: The vital trade route now in Houthi hands

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have seized Perim Island, a strategically vital position in the Red Sea, triggering serious concern in Saudi Arabia and across the region. The Iran-aligned group has been steadily advancing along Yemen’s coastal areas bordering Saudi Arabia and lying near the Bab el-Mandeb — one of the world’s most critical shipping corridors. Beyond seizing territory, the Houthis have also targeted Saudi vessels passing through the route and oil installations inside the kingdom. Their capture of Perim Island has alarmed not only Saudi Arabia but Washington as well. A route under growing strain Traffic through Bab el-Mandeb has surged since Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as oil and global trade increasingly divert through the Red Sea corridor. Roughly a quarter of the world’s total maritime cargo passes through this route to reach global markets. According to the latest figures from the US Energy Information Administration, daily crude flows from the Gulf and Asian countries through Bab el-Mandeb rose from around 4. 5 million barrels in 2025 to approximately 8. 1 million barrels now. Geography of a chokepoint Perim Island — known locally as “Mayyun” — is a barren, volcanic island of roughly five square miles, owned by Yemen and positioned squarely within the Bab el-Mandeb strait. Eritrea and Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, lie on one side; Yemen on the other. At this point, the Red Sea narrows dramatically, with just 12 miles separating the Arabian Peninsula from the African continent. Perim Island, located near Bab el-Mandeb, which has now fallen under Houthi control. Historically, ships travelling between Asia and Europe had to sail the long way around Africa. The construction of the Suez Canal in Egypt created a direct Red Sea corridor between the two continents, with Bab el-Mandeb as its chokepoint. In Arabic, “Bab el-Mandeb” translates to “Gate of Tears” or “Gate of Grief” — a reference historically attributed to the hazards mariners faced on this route: shifting currents, unpredictable winds, rocky shoals and shallow waters. After the Strait of Malacca and the Strait of Hormuz, it is considered the world’s third-busiest maritime chokepoint. Its importance grew further after the Suez Canal opened, since whoever controls Perim Island can directly monitor and dominate this critical trade route — a position that has made it a strategic maritime hub for centuries. A closure of Bab el-Mandeb could force ships onto the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope. According to the International Maritime Organisation, an estimated 10-12% of global trade, roughly a quarter of daily container shipping between Asia and Europe, passes through this roughly 30-kilometre-wide sea corridor. What Houthi control means Control of Perim Island means the Houthis can now, at will, disrupt oil supplies and global trade moving through this alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz. Following the takeover, the group announced Bab el-Mandeb would remain open to all countries except Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude oil exporter, was shipping around 20 million barrels a day globally before the war with Iran. After the Hormuz closure, it increased use of its East-West pipeline and began exporting crude from its Red Sea port of Yanbu. According to CNN, Saudi Arabia had been exporting roughly 4. 5 million barrels a day of crude via Yanbu through the Red Sea, of which about 3 million barrels a day passed through Bab el-Mandeb. However, due to the Houthi threat, that flow fell to around 400, 000 barrels a day by August — and has declined further since. Saudi Arabia’s oil exports: figures before the Iran war compared to today. CNN A sustained Houthi blockade of Bab el-Mandeb could become one of the most significant strategic and economic crises in history for both Saudi Arabia and global trade. A history of imperial contest Perim Island’s location has made it a prize for centuries. According to the historical website The British Empire, the island was a site of rivalry between Britain and France even before the Suez Canal was built. In 1798, when Napoleon Bonaparte’s French forces occupied Egypt, Britain feared France might advance toward India. To protect its most valuable colony, Britain first occupied Perim Island in 1799, intending to use it as a military base to block French advances. Britain soon realised the island’s guns lacked the range to stop French naval vessels passing by, and with no natural freshwater source, abandoned plans to fortify it and withdrew. The German coal-powered passenger liner “Kaiser Wilhelm II” from the nineteenth century. When France began building the Suez Canal, Britain again grew concerned about French control of the Red Sea and reoccupied Perim Island in 1857. After the canal opened in 1869, steamship traffic surged, and these vessels needed coal. Although nearby Aden already offered coaling facilities, its harbour was congested and shallow. Perim’s southern coast, by contrast, was naturally deep enough for the largest ships to anchor easily. In 1881, a London businessman established a coaling company on the island, and within a few years it became a significant maritime hub. By the 1930s, the world’s shipping fleets shifted from coal to oil. Aden adapted its port accordingly, but the Perim Coal Company fell behind and went bankrupt in 1935, after which the island faded back into obscurity. Britain’s control of Perim lasted until November 1967, when British forces withdrew amid Yemen’s armed independence movement, and the island became part of the People’s Republic of South Yemen. Yemen’s fractured present Yemen is currently split largely into three areas: one governed by the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), one controlled by the Houthi rebels, and some areas held by the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC), formerly backed by the UAE. The conflict between Saudi-backed forces and the Iran-backed Houthis has now intensified, while the STC has largely remained on the sidelines. Remnants of the British occupation era on Perim Island are still visible today. Yemen’s eastern and central regions — including Aden, Marib, Hadhramaut and eastern Yemen — are under PLC control, recognised internationally, including by the United Nations, as Yemen’s legitimate government, with Aden serving as its temporary capital. The Houthis, meanwhile, control the capital Sanaa along with Yemen’s northern and western coastal areas, and receive backing from Iran. Years of intense fighting between Saudi-backed forces and the Houthis were paused under a UN-mediated ceasefire in April 2022. The broader civil war dates back to September 2004, under then-President Ali Abdullah Saleh, with Saudi Arabia entering the conflict directly in 2010 to support the Yemeni government. The current escalation began in July 2026, when the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of an airstrike on a plane arriving from Iran, and retaliated by attacking Saudi commercial vessels and oil facilities — triggering renewed clashes among Yemen’s rival factions. Following intense fighting in September, the Houthis pushed back Saudi-backed forces, seizing several key Red Sea coastal areas and the historic port city of Al-Mokha, before capturing Perim Island at the mouth of Bab el-Mandeb. According to media reports, Saudi Arabia has sought US assistance in addressing the situation, but President Donald Trump has ruled out direct US action against the Houthis.

Read full story on Aaj English Tv