A landmine in Yemen can close a road, empty a farm, delay aid, or kill a child years after the fighting has moved elsewhere. A sea mine can do something larger: threaten fishermen, contaminate coastal waters, disrupt ports, and turn parts of the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab into a zone of uncertainty for international shipping.

This is why Yemen’s landmine crisis can no longer be treated only as a land-based humanitarian file. The country now needs a parallel maritime program, built on the success of Project Masam on land, to detect and clear sea mines and explosive hazards along Yemen’s coastline.

The evidence is already clear.

In June 2026, at least five children were killed and seven others injured when unexploded ordnance detonated in Yemen. UNICEF said the incident was a reminder that landmines, unexploded ordnance, and other explosive remnants of war continue to pose a grave threat to children and communities across the country.

The land threat is measurable. Since it began work in July 2018, Project Masam has cleared 571,125 explosive items in Yemen as of late June 2026. The total includes 7,515 anti-personnel mines, 151,892 anti-tank mines, 403,170 items of unexploded ordnance, and 8,548 improvised explosive devices. Masam also says it has secured more than 82 million square meters of land for civilian use.

In June 2026 alone, Masam cleared 6,786 explosive items, including 186 anti-personnel mines, 442 anti-tank mines, 6,072 unexploded ordnance items, and 86 IEDs. During the same month, its teams secured 1,364,510 square meters of land in several Yemeni governorates.

These numbers show that Masam is not only a demining project. It is a recovery mechanism. Each cleared road, farm, school route, or residential area reduces the cost of war on civilians and allows life to return.

But the sea remains a weaker front.

Yemen’s western coast faces one of the world’s most sensitive maritime corridors: the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab. The threat there is not theoretical. Since November 2023, Houthi attacks on commercial shipping have become one of the most serious maritime security crises in the region. A March 2026 advisory by the U.S. Maritime Administration said that from November 2023 to October 2025, there were more than 100 separate Houthi attacks on commercial vessels, affecting more than 60 nations. The advisory listed possible hostile actions including UAV attacks, unmanned surface vessel attacks, unmanned underwater vehicle attacks, ballistic and cruise missile attacks, explosive boat attacks, small-arms fire, illegal boardings, detentions, and seizures.

Sea mines fit naturally into this threat environment. They are cheaper than missiles, harder to attribute once deployed, and capable of creating disruption even without a major explosion. Suspicion alone can delay shipping, raise insurance costs, force rerouting, and increase the burden on naval and coast guard forces.

The danger is also local. Yemeni fishermen are among the most exposed groups. Unlike commercial ships, they do not have advanced detection systems, professional risk assessments, naval escorts, or insurance protection. A drifting mine or suspicious floating object can turn a normal fishing trip into a fatal incident.

This is the missing link in Yemen’s mine-action response.

Masam has shown that a structured, well-funded, technically trained program can reduce explosive hazards on land at scale. The same logic is needed at sea, but with different tools: sonar-equipped survey boats, diving teams, coastal hazard mapping, maritime explosive ordnance disposal units, reporting networks with fishermen, and coordination with ports, coast guards, and international naval actors.

A “Maritime Masam” should not replace the existing project. It should complement it.

Its mission would be clear:

To survey and clear sea mines and explosive remnants in coastal waters, especially near fishing zones, ports, islands, and sensitive maritime routes.

To train Yemeni coast guard and naval units in maritime mine detection, reporting, and disposal.

To build an early-warning network with fishermen and coastal communities for suspicious floating objects and explosive hazards.

To create a maritime hazard map linking mine-action work with Red Sea security planning.

To protect both civilian livelihoods and international navigation.

The recommendation is therefore direct: Yemen needs a maritime program parallel to Masam, designed specifically for sea mines and coastal explosive hazards. Masam helped make land safer. A maritime version is now needed to make the coast and nearby waters safer.

Without such a program, Yemen’s mine crisis will remain only partly addressed. Roads may reopen, but fishing zones may remain dangerous. Villages may become safer, but ports and coastal waters may remain exposed. Land recovery and maritime security must now be treated as one file.

Yemen does not only need safe roads after war. It also needs a safe sea.