U.S. sanctions vessels, firms providing Houthis with support

U.S. sanctions vessels, firms providing Houthis with support
by Darryl Coote
Washington DC (UPI) Apr 29, 2025

The United States has sanctioned three vessels and their firms on accusations of providing support to the Houthi rebels of Yemen.

The sanctions were announced Monday by the U.S. Treasury amid the Trump administration's near-daily military strikes targeting the Iran-proxy militia, as it attempts to dismantle the Houthis' ability to maintain a maritime blockade of the Red Sea.

"Today's action underscores our commitment to disrupt the Houthis' efforts to fund their dangerous and destabilizing attacks in the region," Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender said in a statement. "Treasury will continue to leverage our tools and authorities to target those who seek to enable the Houthis' ability to exploit the people of Yemen and continue their campaign of violence."

The Houthis erected their blockade, in which they have attacked U.S. military ships, mid-November 2023, a month after Israel launched a full-scale war against Hamas in Gaza.

In February, the United States designated the Houthis as a specially designated global terrorist entity, followed by it their re-designation as a foreign terrorist organization in March. Along with the designations, the Treasury amended licenses permitting petroleum production transactions with the Houthis, preventing the offloading of such goods in parts of Yemen under control of the terrorist organization starting earlier this month.

Treasury officials said the Houthis funnel millions of dollars from port revenues and the seizure of petroleum products that move through them, funding their destabilizing activities.

The sanctions announced target ships and their firms that violated the amended licenses by delivering energy products to Houthi-controlled ports after April 4.

According to Treasury officials the San Marino-flagged Tulip BZ, owned by Marshall Islands-registered Zaas Shipping and Trading, finished offloading its cargo at the Houthi-controlled Ras Isa port on April 10.

The Panama-flagged Maisan of the Mauritius-registered Bagsak Shipping delivered gas to Ras Isa on April 8.

And the Panama-flagged White Whale of the Marshall Islands-registered Great Success Shipping offloaded gas oil at the same port on April 17.

The sanctions block all property and interests in property in their names and bar U.S. citizens from doing business with them.

The U.S. military has attacked more than 800 Houthi targets in Yemen since March 14, when Trump ordered an intensification of the campaign against the Iran-backed group.

In late March, Trump informed Congress that he would "no longer allow this band of pirates to threaten and attack United States forces and commercial vessels in one of the most important shipping lanes in the world."

The Houthis have claimed their military blockade is in support of Palestinians, tens of thousands of whom have been killed in Israel's war against Hamas, another Iran-backed militia.

The State Department on Monday described the United States' campaign as a "whole-of-government approach to eliminating threats to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea."