Mocha Port on Yemen's Red Sea Coast Suffers Extensive Damage from Missile and Drone Attacks, All Commercial and Maritime Operations Halted

The port of Mocha, located on Yemen's Red Sea coast, has completely ceased all commercial and maritime operations after missile and drone strikes damaged its quay walls, vessels, and port infrastructure.

Abdulmalik al-Sharabi, a Mocha port official, said the direct economic losses from the attacks are estimated at approximately $79 million. This latest damage assessment is nearly five times the initial estimate of $16 million. Of the total, quay wall damage accounts for about $57 million, while the remaining $22 million covers losses including six wooden commercial vessels, two of which were carrying cargo at the time. Port warehouse facilities, maintenance workshops, staff accommodation, and equipment for a port expansion project were also destroyed, with a dredger and its auxiliary support vessels among the damaged assets.

According to a statement from Yemen's Ministry of Transport on August 9, Mocha Port had been hit by at least 25 missile and drone strikes, damaging storage areas, fuel facilities, and other infrastructure. On August 14, the port came under further ballistic missile attacks.

The port shutdown has directly deprived approximately 1,300 workers of their income, with more than 30 shipping agency firms previously operating at the port. A port rehabilitation, expansion, and operation project with total investment exceeding $130 million has now been suspended. Dredging work for the port basin, turning basin, and navigation channel, which had previously reached 38% of planned completion, has been halted, along with the construction of supporting container-handling infrastructure.

Abdulmalik al-Sharabi revealed that since the attacks began on August 8, the strikes have killed 10 people and injured 22, revising the earlier preliminary death toll of 7.

Mocha Port is situated on the Red Sea coast of Yemen's Taiz Governorate, near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Its cargo throughput is relatively small compared to Yemen's major ports of Aden and Hodeidah.