A yet-to-be-published UN report reveals that Yemen’s Houthi rebels have crafted a lucrative income stream by exploiting the strategic Red Sea waterway. Insiders report that the Houthis are operating a multimillion-dollar toll system, pressuring shipowners to pay for safe passage through this critical maritime corridor. If true, these “safe passage” tolls would rank among the Houthis’ most significant financial resources, incentivizing them to continue aggressive attacks on maritime vessels regardless of the group’s political ideology.
The report, prepared by a UN Security Council expert panel studying the Yemeni conflict, exceeds 500 pages and outlines the Houthis’ growing capabilities in finance, alliances, and weaponry. The group has developed an extensive international network for smuggling, recruitment, money laundering, and piracy, enhancing its revenue streams across various domains.
Their blockade on the Red Sea, enforced through drone and missile strikes on commercial vessels, is their latest revenue initiative, according to the report. The Houthis carried out more than 130 attacks on merchant ships from November to July, significantly increasing their influence in the region and marking the largest use of ballistic systems on civilian vessels since World War II.
Houthi leaders assert that their attacks are politically motivated, targeting vessels connected to Israel and allied nations. However, many of these attacks have impacted ships without any discernible ties to Israel or the West. In several cases, the targeted ships were transporting goods for nations supporting the Houthis, including Iran, their primary ally. This scattered attack pattern, previously attributed to possible targeting errors, is now understood to have a financial basis. Local shipbrokers suggest that the Houthis charge shipowners a toll to guarantee a safe passage, implying a risk for vessels that do not comply.
UN report reveals a lucrative, covert toll system generating substantial revenue for Houthi forces in Yemen.
The sources estimate that the Houthis are earning approximately $180 million per month from these illicit tolls. If accurate, this revenue would eclipse their income from taxing petroleum imports, which is one of their main revenue sources. The UN panel noted that it has not independently verified these estimates, but if true, the Houthis could be collecting over $2 billion annually from this toll operation alone. Should the group cease their maritime attacks, they would forfeit a crucial revenue stream as well as a strategic source of influence over Red Sea shipping lanes.
Beyond revenue generation, the report details the Houthis’ growing connections with terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab, and Hezbollah, along with Somali pirate groups. It highlights the extensive military support provided by Iran and other backers within the so-called “Axis of Resistance,” offering the Houthis substantial military hardware, technology, and training. This unprecedented scale and diversity of military assistance, according to the report, has contributed significantly to the group’s expanding reach and control.
The implications of these findings are far-reaching. The Houthis’ ability to wield both military force and financial leverage in the Red Sea positions them as a formidable influence in the region, and their potential revenue from safe passage tolls indicates they have a strong financial motivation to perpetuate instability in one of the world’s busiest maritime corridors. As the international community evaluates responses to these activities, the economic and geopolitical stakes continue to escalate in a region where safe passage is becoming increasingly expensive.
