The International Maritime Organization is pushing forward with its Red Sea Project, designed to bolster security and enhance the coordination of maritime situational awareness across the Horn of Africa and the waters adjacent to Yemen.
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As part of this initiative, the IMO facilitated a four-day workshop for the internationally recognized government of the Republic of Yemen, held from June 22 to 25, 2026. This event was conducted in partnership with the Crisis Response Project for the Red Sea and the Western Indian Ocean, which is funded by the European Union. The workshop convened representatives from every agency responsible for policing and managing Yemen’s maritime domain at the Ministry of Transport’s offices in Aden.
The workshop aimed to create a roadmap for setting up two bodies: a National Maritime Information Sharing Center, to be located at the Yemeni Coast Guard headquarters—where it already exists in a preliminary form—and a Regional Maritime Information Sharing Center, situated 100 yards away on the Aden dockside within the Yemen Maritime Affairs Authority.
The IMO urged these two organizations to adopt the regionally endorsed 2023 Djibouti Code of Conduct/Jeddah Amendment Information Sharing Standard Operating Procedures as the basis for Yemen’s national protocols. Highlighting the obstacles ahead, these SOPs have yet to be translated into Arabic, making that translation an early priority on the project’s roadmap.
The IMO and EU effort is a regionally coordinated endeavor, enabling littoral states in the area to exchange not only information but also procedures for both routine reporting and emergency response.
A concurrent project, backed by Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and EU donors, aims to enhance the capabilities of the Yemeni Coast Guard. The UK has supported the deployment of two patrol vessels, the Aden and the Mayun, now stationed on Perim Island. This initiative has also fostered better coordination between the former Coast Guard and maritime patrols run by the National Resistance Forces in the southern Red Sea.
Practical challenges are numerous. A power struggle emerged between Interior Minister Ibrahim Haidan, who attempted to remove Major General Khaled Ali Mohammed Al Qumali as head of the Coast Guard—a move that was blocked by the Saudis. Such internal disputes often arise when individual ministries or departments secure foreign aid, prompting others to seek similar benefits.
Somali-based piracy is on the rise in Yemeni waters, with the IMO Secretary General demanding the immediate release of 44 sailors who have been held hostage since March off Puntland aboard three tankers: the Palau-flagged MT Honour 25, the Togo-registered Eureka, and the St Kitts & Nevis-flagged Sward.
More troublingly, relations between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia have worsened, as negotiations for a comprehensive peace—which would include Saudi subsidies and an end to the blockade—have stalled. A resurgence of fighting within Yemen would once again heighten the risk of attacks on vessels transiting Yemeni waters.
