SANAA (Dispatches) -- Six commercial vessels have turned back from the Red Sea in the past 24 hours after Yemen’s armed forces imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, a military source confirmed to the Yemeni News Agency (Saba) on Tuesday. 
The move follows an official ban on Saudi-linked maritime navigation announced Monday under the “blockade for blockade” equation, in response to the kingdom’s 12-year blockade and military campaign against Yemen.
The blockade has already begun disrupting crude oil shipments. Shipping data showed at least two oil tankers carrying Saudi crude to China and India reversed course in the Red Sea on Tuesday. 
The Xin Long Yang, a Very Large Crude Carrier carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi crude loaded at Yanbu, headed back toward the Suez Canal rather than risk transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The smaller tanker Rodos, carrying about 700,000 barrels for India, also turned back for Suez.
Yemen’s Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center sent an email warning to shipping companies, stating that vessels are banned from loading or discharging cargo at any Saudi ports and that violators “may be subject to targeting in any location within the operational reach of the Yemeni Armed Forces”. 
British maritime security company Ambrey advised vessels calling at Saudi ports “were at high risk” and to reconsider transiting the Red Sea.
The Yemeni armed forces announced the naval blockade on July 20, with military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree declaring that the ban “has entered into force from the moment of issuing this statement” and warning of a “comprehensive and 
severe response” to any Saudi escalation.
Major General Muhammad al-Qadri, commander of Yemen’s Coastal Defense Forces, stressed the country has become a major regional power with military capabilities allowing it to impose a “new deterrence balance”. 
Riyadh has only two options, he said: “either lift the blockade and end its intervention or continue escalating, a course that will carry a heavy price”. He further emphasized that “economic security is no longer separate from military security”.
The blockade comes as Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports fell for a third consecutive month in May to their lowest level on record. Data released Tuesday by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed exports dropped to 3.434 million barrels per day (bpd) from 3.986 million bpd in April, the lowest monthly level since the database began in 2002. 
The decline came despite a modest production recovery, reflecting the impact of the U.S.-Israeli aggression against Iran, which has disrupted shipping across the Persian Gulf.
With the Strait of Hormuz transit blocked amid the ongoing war, Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu has become the main alternative route for West Asian oil exports. The Yemeni blockade now threatens that critical route, as an average of 10 crude tankers daily sail through the Bab el-Mandeb. Analysts warn that disruptions could redirect Yanbu crude exports towards Europe instead of Asia, further tightening global oil supplies.
The Yemeni Foreign Ministry also condemned Saudi Arabia’s “arrogant” treatment of Yemen, stating the kingdom must end its military campaign or “prepare itself for what lies ahead”. 
Ansarullah spokesperson Mohammed Abdul Salam said the deadline for Riyadh to honor its commitments “has expired,” and the “siege against siege equation” is the “natural, legal, and moral response” to Saudi obstinacy.