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To Cross the Red Sea, Some Shipping Companies Are Emailing the Houthis. They Reportedly Reply Within 24 Hours
Commercial ships are not legally required to seek Houthi permission to cross the Red Sea. But some operators are reportedly emailing a Houthi-run center for assurances that their vessels will not be targeted.
Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, Africa-Arabia from NASA.GOV
The email can include the ship's route, ownership details and a declaration that it has no links to Israel, the United States or Britain.
Then, according to a recent Wall Street Journal investigation, the Houthis may reply within about 24 hours.
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The unusual arrangement highlights how dramatically security has changed around the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, one of the world's most important maritime chokepoints.
The system operates through the Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center, or HOCC, an entity established by the Houthis in early 2024 to process communications from shipping operators and communicate the group's maritime restrictions.
The Wall Street Journal reviewed emails and spoke with crew members and maritime analysts about the process. According to its reporting, some shipping companies have sent the HOCC details about their vessels and planned voyages while seeking reassurance before entering waters where Houthi attacks remain a threat.
In some applications, operators reportedly declared that their vessels, owners, managers and crews had no connections to Israel, the United States or the United Kingdom.
The Houthis have said vessels without those connections could transit without contacting the HOCC. However, after the group announced a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia in July 2026, some shipping operators reportedly began seeking additional assurances before entering the region.
A Chinese Ship Received a Reply
One reported case involved the Chinese containership Zhong Cheng Chang Ling.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the ship's management company instructed its captain to contact the Houthis as a precaution. The vessel received a response in September 2026 allowing it to transit through the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Follow-up reporting based on the Journal's account said the authorization covered a seven-day period and included instructions to keep the ship's Automatic Identification System, or AIS, operating during the transit. The vessel subsequently sailed through the Red Sea and entered the Indian Ocean.
But the arrangement should not be confused with an internationally recognized clearance system.
The Houthis do not have internationally recognized authority to regulate commercial shipping through international waters, and the Wall Street Journal reported that many vessels choose not to contact the HOCC.
International maritime authorities have advised vessels not to engage with or register through the Houthi-run system, according to the Journal. The United States also designates the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization.
The story is therefore not that every ship now needs Houthi permission to cross the Red Sea.
The more extraordinary reality is that the threat of Houthi attacks has reportedly led some commercial operators to contact the group directly anyway.
For a captain planning a passage through one of the world's most strategically important waterways, the calculation can now include something almost unimaginable a few years ago:
Send an email to the Houthis and wait to see if they reply.
Editor’s Note: The email-based communication system and the reported response times are based primarily on Wall Street Journal reporting that reviewed emails and cited crew members and maritime analysts. The HOCC is not an internationally recognized maritime authority, and contacting it is not a legal requirement for vessels transiting the Red Sea or Bab al-Mandab Strait.
