All Policy Analysis by Noam Raydan

Two experts offer a detailed infographic and accompanying analysis to chart attack trends over the past year and forecast what’s in store for the Red Sea and surrounding waterways.

The energy transition in both countries includes a continued need for fossil fuels while reducing emissions—though Riyadh hopes to export “all forms of energy” down the road, and Abu Dhabi seeks nuclear advances to meet power demand.

While major operators will continue to avoid the Red Sea in 2025, others are launching new services in the high-risk waterway, including some that manage China-linked vessels.

The United States and its partners should take several immediate steps to avoid an environmental disaster, counter the Houthi spin about the incident, and prevent the group from creating other hazmat emergencies in the Red Sea.

The operators are either accepting risk on a vital transport route or else no longer concerned about perceptions about their vessels’ past links to Britain.

An interactive map showing the extent to which Houthi forces, their Iranian military patrons, and other actors have been targeting vessels in regional waterways for years, including well before the Hamas-Israel war.

Available data suggests the Yemeni group has been going after vessels carrying Russian cargo, particularly if an operator's ships have visited Israeli ports.

A promising cross-Mediterranean initiative has run into political challenges, burdensome investment laws, methane leaks, and other hurdles.

Direct strikes from the Yemeni group are unlikely at the moment, but a more aggressive Hezbollah could alter the threat picture.

The immediate effects of the Houthi antishipping campaign are measurably serious, but the United States, Saudi Arabia, and other partners also need to prepare for the emboldened group to exert its newfound leverage in other ways beyond the Gaza war.

Links to Israel-linked companies, especially in light of the Rafah invasion, are again the culprit.

Even increased aggressive activity in the Indian Ocean will be unlikely to seriously disrupt maritime traffic and global trade—but vessels calling on Israeli ports will need to take extra precautions.

Low-key actions like seizures can increase regional and global concerns and increase Iran's leverage.

Riyadh’s aim to become a global logistics hub connecting three continents will face challenges if risks to southern Red Sea shipping persist at their current levels.

In this timely new video, Washington Institute scholars discuss the pre-Gaza predecessors of the latest attack campaign, its widening repercussions on trade, and what will be required to halt it militarily.

Greater decisiveness would have shortened the conflict, lessened the toll on global maritime trade, and reassured U.S. partners in the region and beyond.

Three experts address the thorny strategic questions arising from attacks on global shipping by the Yemen-based group.

OPEC’s second-biggest oil producer must demonstrate how it will balance its goals of reducing emissions, increasing crude production, and continuing the use of high-sulfur liquid fuels in the power sector.

As Houthi attacks continue, more companies are deciding to take costly detours around Africa, increasing the urgency of bolstering local security measures.

Efforts to expand the tanker fleet are welcome, but officials must also hire the right staff, untangle the regulatory environment, conduct major restructuring, and clarify questions about existing joint ventures.