AMBREY THREAT CIRCULAR
Date released: 11 November 2025
“Following a careful re-evaluation, Ambrey assesses that the risk to some vessels transiting the Bab el-Mandeb has returned to tolerable levels for certain companies.”
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- The Israel and Hamas ceasefire has already held for a month, though remains fragile as major issues are yet to be settled.
- The Houthi Chief of Staff has indicated that their ‘ban on Israel shipping’ is on hold during the ceasefire.
- The Houthi ‘sanctions regime’ on some US-affiliated companies remained on the HOCC website, though attacks have yet to materialise.
- Bab el-Mandeb transits have modestly increased. Two Greek companies have restarted transits, and other companies are openly transiting when they have previously withheld AIS transmissions.
- Ambrey has been asked to re-evaluate company policies on avoiding the Bab al-Mandeb and has advised that, for some, the risk has now returned to levels tolerable to them.
SITUATION
Since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire on 10 October 2025, no Houthi-related attacks against merchant shipping have been recorded. The Houthis did not offer explicit statements on the organisation’s intent toward shipping in the immediate wake of the ceasefire. On 9 November 2025, the Chief of Staff of the Houthi Armed Forces published a letter to Hamas, in which, the Houthi official directly stated…