Yemen’s new naval formation from Bab al-Mandab to Zuqar

The launch of a new naval formation in Yemen has drawn fresh attention to the military and security shifts tied to one of the world’s most sensitive waterways, as regional tensions and threats to international shipping continue to rise.

Tarik Mohammed Saleh, a member of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, said last Wednesday that several modern boats had entered service alongside the launch of the new formation, whose area of operations extends from Bab al-Mandab Strait to Zuqar Island, passing through the western Red Sea coast, especially in Taiz and Hodeidah governorates.

The move comes as the Red Sea faces rising security risks linked to Houthi attacks and threats against commercial vessels, along with growing smuggling activity and organized crime, prompting many regional and international powers to increase their military presence in the area.

What the new formation is meant to do

The official spokesman for the National Resistance, Brigadier General Sadeq Dweid, said the new naval formation is an extension of the successes achieved by the National Resistance’s naval forces in recent periods.

Dweid said that "supporting the National Resistance Navy with a new formation enhances the presence of the Yemeni state regionally and internationally, and reduces opportunities to smuggle weapons and prohibited items to the terrorist militia," referring to the Houthis.

Despite the step’s importance, experts and observers say the security challenges in the Red Sea remain complex, with threats of maritime attacks continuing, the possible escalation of drone and missile use, and the activity of smuggling networks and organized crime.

Military and security roles

Military affairs and maritime transport technology expert Dr. Ali al-Dhahab said the new naval formation is "the nucleus of a broader naval force" within the Yemeni naval forces التابعة to the Ministry of Defense, and it operates alongside coast guard forces to secure territorial waters.

Al-Dhahab told "Erm News" that the new force has both combat and security tasks, including protecting maritime borders and strengthening maritime security in territorial waters extending 12 miles off Yemen’s coast.

He said the step comes as part of arrangements to reorganize military forces and divide their land and naval duties, adding that it also comes amid the complex security conditions in the region linked to Houthi threats to international shipping in the Red Sea.

He added that the new formation helps secure the country’s territorial waters and may be used for tasks that go beyond territorial waters into wider maritime areas reaching adjacent waters.

At the same time, the military expert noted that carrying out broader operations to curb Houthi threats and fight organized crime through its various methods, including smuggling operations and systematic piracy on the high seas, requires greater naval capabilities and ships able to maneuver and deal with complex threats as needed.

Signals beyond the sea

Observers also say the announcement carries military and political messages at the same time, going beyond the creation of a new naval force to reassert a Yemeni presence alongside allies within the Red Sea equation.

In this regard, security and military researcher Asim al-Mujahid said the announcement of the new naval formation carries more than one military and political meaning, especially amid the shifts taking place in the Red Sea file.

In his remarks to "Erm News," al-Mujahid said Yemeni military forces are seeking through this step to reposition themselves within the Red Sea security file, after years in which the Houthi militia tried to impose itself as a party capable of influencing international shipping security.

He added that any new naval presence by Yemeni forces "is read as a message to reclaim part of the initiative and rebuild the Yemeni presence along the western coast and Bab al-Mandab, instead of leaving the vacuum to expand."

Al-Mujahid said the success of any new naval formation will not depend only on the number of naval units or the size of the force, but also on the degree of integration with the coast guard, naval intelligence and international support.

He stressed that protecting Bab al-Mandab is no longer only a local issue, but has become part of the international security system linked to energy and global trade.

Al-Mujahid also said the announcement carries a political message that Yemen "is not outside the Red Sea equation, and that the security of waterways cannot remain a file managed by external powers or imposed by armed groups as a fait accompli."

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