The Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, announced on Tuesday evening that the group had carried out a military operation against the Saudi oil tanker NCC GHAZAL, accusing the vessel of violating the movement's declared maritime blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea.

According to the statement, the tanker was targeted with multiple ballistic missiles after allegedly ignoring Houthi warnings. Saree claimed the attack forced the vessel to reverse course and retreat, describing the operation as part of the group's expanding campaign under what it calls the strategy of "blockade for blockade and escalation for escalation."

As of the time of publication, no independent authority has confirmed the attack or verified the Houthi claims.Neither the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), maritime security firms such as Ambrey, the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC), Saudi authorities, nor international shipping agencies have reported an incident involving NCC GHAZAL.

Sheba Intelligence's open-source timeline analysis indicates that the vessel maintained normal navigation in the hours leading up to the Houthi announcement. Based on available AIS data, the timeline shows no significant deviation in the tanker's reported course or speed before the statement issued at 20:00 (Sanaa time). The last publicly available AIS updates also revealed no distress signal, emergency maneuver, or independently verified indication that the vessel had been forced to reverse course. While AIS data is not always transmitted in real time and cannot conclusively confirm or rule out an attempted attack, the currently available open-source evidence does not corroborate the Houthi claim.

The announcement marks the latest step in the Houthis' campaign to enforce their recently declared maritime ban on Saudi-linked shipping, following earlier threats to expand operations beyond vessels associated with Israel and the United States. The group has repeatedly stated that Saudi commercial shipping has become a legitimate target as part of its broader military escalation.

Assessment

While the Houthi statement presents the operation as a successful strike that compelled the tanker to turn back, there is currently no independently verified evidence supporting that claim. The absence of official maritime security alerts, combined with Sheba Intelligence's timeline analysis showing no observable disruption in the vessel's reported movement, suggests that the reported incident remains unverified.

If subsequent AIS updates continue to show the vessel proceeding normally, or if no maritime incident reports emerge from international monitoring organizations, it would strengthen the assessment that the attack either failed to hit its target, was intercepted, or had no operational impact on the vessel. Conversely, any later confirmation from maritime authorities could alter the current assessment.

Until independent evidence becomes available, the incident should be treated as an unverified operational claim rather than a confirmed maritime attack. Sheba Intelligence will continue monitoring the vessel's movements and maritime security reporting for any developments.