Yemeni government sources told Reuters on 11 September that Houthi forces had reached Perim (Mayyun) Island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the mainland town of Dhubab facing it, a day after capturing Mocha. The Guardian reported that government-allied units withdrew from the volcanic island and that Saudi aircraft struck Houthi positions in Mocha. Perim splits the strait near its narrowest point, about 29 kilometres wide, and sits on the same Asia-Europe and energy corridor that Saudi exporters have leaned on more heavily while Hormuz traffic stays constrained. Iran publicly welcomed the Houthi gains. The UN migration agency said more than 46,000 people had already fled the week’s fighting, with large departures from Mocha overnight.
For Ethiopia the story is freight before it is flags. The Addis-Djibouti corridor still carries the bulk of the country’s seaborne imports and exports. Higher war-risk premiums, slower schedules, or Cape diversions do not need a formal strait closure to lift prices on fuel, vehicles, and industrial inputs inland. Ethiopian Business View and Container News both stressed that commodity traffic through Bab el-Mandeb continued near recent averages even as Hormuz volumes sank, which means the corridor is open and more expensive at the same time. Abiy Ahmed’s regime can announce alternative ports. It cannot price London additional premiums or Houthi coastal guns out of Ethiopia’s import bill.
Saudi Arabia’s 14-country maritime coalition announced in August has yet to show a visible deterrent off Yemen’s coast. Houthi messaging still says non-Saudi shipping is safe. Charterers will believe the premium quotes, not the press lines. If Perim and Dhubab hold, the Horn’s economic exposure to Yemen’s Red Sea war moves from hypothetical to ledger entry.
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