Intelligence sources indicate that the Houthi movement is transitioning from relying primarily on coastal launch sites to establishing an integrated maritime operations network centered on Yemen’s Red Sea islands. If confirmed, the development would significantly enhance the group’s ability to conduct sustained and coordinated attacks against commercial shipping across the southern Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Intelligence sources told Sheba Intelligence that the Houthi movement has significantly expanded its military activity across Yemen’s Red Sea islands, particularly Kamaran Island, which has emerged as the group’s principal forward maritime operations hub amid escalating threats against international shipping.

According to the sources, Kamaran Island now hosts command-and-control centers responsible for coordinating maritime operations, together with launch sites for one-way attack drones, unmanned explosive surface vessels, and small underwater suicide craft designed to target commercial shipping and naval forces operating in the Red Sea.

The sources added that missile systems have also been deployed on and around the island, while engineering units continue expanding fortified military infrastructure and concealed operational facilities to support long-term maritime operations.

The intelligence sources further stated that foreign military advisers, including Iranian experts, are present on the island, providing technical and operational support related to missile systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, explosive surface vessels, underwater attack craft, and operational planning.

The reported military buildup comes days after the Houthis announced a maritime blockade targeting Saudi-linked shipping and was followed by the group’s claimed attack on a Saudi commercial vessel in the Red Sea. The sequence suggests that the movement’s public threats are being reinforced by expanding operational infrastructure capable of supporting future maritime attacks.

The information is also consistent with a series of exclusive Sheba Intelligence reports published before the recent escalation. Those reports documented preparations for expanded maritime operations, including the deployment of unmanned explosive surface vessels, underwater attack systems, missile-force repositioning, and coordinated preparations involving naval, missile, and drone units along Yemen’s western coastline.

Kamaran Island occupies one of the most strategically important locations in the southern Red Sea. Its proximity to international shipping lanes and the ports of Hodeidah, Salif, and Ras Isa provides the Houthis with a forward operating position from which they can monitor maritime traffic, coordinate attacks, reduce deployment times, and sustain operations across the Red Sea.

Taken together, intelligence sources assess that the military buildup on Yemen’s Red Sea islands should not be viewed as an isolated development. Rather, it represents part of a broader Houthi effort to establish a permanent maritime operations network capable of supporting increasingly sophisticated attacks against international shipping and regional maritime security.