14 Nations Join Saudi-Led Naval Coalition To Protect Red Sea Shipping As Oil Prices Near $90

14 Nations Join Saudi-Led Naval Coalition To Protect Red Sea Shipping As Oil Prices Near $90

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Last Updated: July 30, 2026, 23:09 IST

Saudi Arabia and 13 nations formed a maritime coalition in Riyadh to guard the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Red Sea, and Gulf of Aden amid Houthi blockades.

Houthi supporters brandish rifles and hold portraits of Iran's slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in solidarity with Iran and Lebanon. (AFP)

Saudi Arabia and 13 other countries signed a joint statement in Riyadh on Thursday to establish a multinational defensive maritime coalition guarding the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, as the Iran-aligned Houthis continue a naval blockade against the kingdom and the Strait of Hormuz remains shut to commercial shipping.

Fourteen Signatories, 43 Nations At The Table

The Saudi Ministry of Defense named the signatories as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Sudan, Djibouti and Somalia. Military chiefs of staff and representatives from 43 countries, along with a European Union delegation, attended the Riyadh meeting in person or by video link to review the coalition’s draft charter.

Riyadh To Host Command Structure

Saudi Arabia will serve as the coalition’s founding nation and host its headquarters in the kingdom, according to the ministry’s statement. The framework includes a joint command and leadership structure, a joint operations control centre, and a general secretariat. The ministry said the door remains open for any additional country to join once it completes its own domestic accession procedures.

The statement described the alliance as strictly defensive, saying it does not target any state or organisation and that all activity will operate within international law and each member’s national sovereignty. Objectives listed include protecting freedom of navigation, securing international trade routes and energy shipments through Bab el-Mandeb, and coordinating intelligence, information sharing and joint naval exercises among members.

The initiative follows a visit by Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman to the United States, where officials discussed regional security, including attacks on Saudi infrastructure tied to the Houthis and Iran-aligned groups in Iraq.

Blockade Declared Since July 20

The Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on July 20, accusing Riyadh of besieging Yemen, a claim that Saudi officials have denied. The group has since attacked Saudi-linked vessels in the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia has responded with air strikes on Houthi facilities at Yemen’s Hodeidah port, which it says are used to threaten commercial shipping.

Hormuz Shut Since March, Ten Ships A Day

The coalition proposal lands on top of a separate crisis at the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed to commercial traffic since March 2, when Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed the closure during the wider US-Israel-Iran conflict. Tanker transits through Hormuz fell to 10 ships on July 23, against a pre-crisis baseline of roughly 88 a day, according to shipping tracker PortWatch. Brent crude stood near $90 a barrel on July 29.

12% Of World Trade, And The Consumer Bill

Roughly 12 percent of global seaborne trade by volume moves through Bab el-Mandeb, and a similar share of global trade by value passes through the Suez Canal at the Red Sea’s northern end, which the strait feeds into. When ships cannot safely reach or exit that route, carriers divert around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, adding 10 to 14 days to Asia-Europe transit times and pushing freight rates on some lanes up 15 to 25 percent, according to industry shipping data. Every extra day at sea and every added mile of fuel burn gets built into freight contracts months before a product reaches a shelf, so consumers absorb the disruption in delayed deliveries and higher prices on imported goods long after the ships themselves have found a new route.

Saudi Arabia has denied the Houthi allegation that it is besieging Yemen. The kingdom’s foreign ministry has not issued a separate statement beyond the Ministry of Defense release.

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About the Author Anoshito Banerjee Anoshito Banerjee is a digital journalist at CNN-News18, specialising in Indian foreign policy, global diplomacy, South and West Asian geopolitics, and strategic affairs. His reporting spans hard news... Read More

First Published: July 30, 2026, 23:09 IST

News world 14 Nations Join Saudi-Led Naval Coalition To Protect Red Sea Shipping As Oil Prices Near $90

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