Image for representation purposes only Several commercial vessels, including oil tankers carrying Saudi crude to India and China, reversed course on Tuesday after Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement warned ships against calling at Saudi ports. The diversions are among the first signs that the Houthis are enforcing a naval blockade announced a day earlier. The group warned shipping companies not to load or unload cargo at Saudi ports, saying vessels involved in such trade could be targeted “in any location” within the operational reach of the Yemeni Armed Forces. According to Reuters ship-tracking data, the tanker Rodos, carrying about 700,000 barrels of Saudi crude to India, turned around in the Red Sea and headed north toward the Suez Canal instead of continuing south through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Another tanker, Xin Long Yang, carrying about 2 million barrels of Saudi crude for China, also reversed course on Tuesday. A third Very Large Crude Carrier, New Prime, which was due to arrive at Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port later this week to load crude, turned back near Oman before entering the Red Sea. Maritime publication Lloyd’s List reported that at least six vessels had changed course after the Houthis began enforcing the blockade. One of them was the vehicle carrier Liu Jiang Kou, operated by China’s Cosco Shipping Specialized Carriers. The vessel was sailing through the Gulf of Aden toward Jeddah before making a U-turn, according to ship-tracking data. Lloyd’s List reported that the Houthi-run Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center emailed the vessel’s operator to cancel its transit clearance, warning that continuing toward Saudi ports could expose the ship to targeting “in any location within the operational reach of the Yemeni Armed Forces.” Cosco did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The publication also reported that two Hong Kong-flagged oil tankers, Xin Tong Yang and New Prime