Bahri’s Dark Geopolitical Ties
Bahri or National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia is a giant maritime company in the Middle East.
But, behind this commercial image, there is a provocative and worrying history of its geopolitical process, especially the means of transporting weapons and the manner in which Saudi Arabia participates in the geo conflict such as in Yemen and Gaza.. Since 2015, Saudi Arabia has been a major component of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, which also comprises the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, Morocco and Kuwait. This military effort by this coalition has caused high civilian fatality, dislocation of millions of people and in humanitarian terms is one of the worst disasters in the world, as reported by the United Nations. This article will attempt to create an enlightened balanced discussion of these controversies as it gives some background and insight to a novice reader yet with the professional and analytical style.
Bahri Saudi Shipping Company
Bahri, which is a national shipping company of the Saudi Arabia, engages mostly in international marine logistics as well as the transport of crude oil, chemicals and bulk products and general merchandise. It also has big ships in oil products, dry bulk and specialised transportation. In an area of the world where maritime trade is one of the most essential veins, strategically based in the Red Sea and other trade gateways, the location of Bahri activities puts it in the realm of intersections between regional and international political dynamics, and as such, extends its operational being beyond commerce.
Weapons Transport to Israel Amid Gaza Genocide
In August 2025, the Saudi-owned Bahri Yanbu was at the centre of an international outcry after dockworkers in the port of Genoa, Italy, intercepted the ship after suspicions rose that it was carrying a heavy load of weapons bound to Israel. Independent observers and humanitarian organisations reported that among the cargo were Italian produced armed materials like Oto Melara naval guns, armoured vehicles, tanks, ammunition and explosives. The interception came at a time when Israel was actually undertaking heavy handed military actions in Gaza which are generally regarded as genocidal in character. A moral stance on becoming participants in the further crime in Gaza was one of the factors that drove the dockworkers into a blockade.
The consequences of this happening are huge. It brought into the spotlight the secret dealings-or at least acquiescence by Saudi Arabia to supply Israeli war machine despite the fact that Saudi Arabia holds official stands in favour of the Palestinian cause. According to critics, these moves are not only defied to the international humanitarian law, but go further to normalise and entrench the military and economic relations between both nations (Saudi Arabia and Israel). This change belongs to the larger scheme of things in Middle East where traditional enmity towards Iran and strategic interests have muted the old Saudi public opinion on the Palestine case in a silent bid of geopolitical balance.
However, Bahri made a formal refusal to have any relations with supply of arms to Israel. The company made outright claims that it has never ever travelled to Israel in any form and fully complies with the formal policies of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in supporting Palestine and the entire international maritime laws. Bahri highlighted that it has strict monitoring and auditing practices that are aimed at striving to comply. Nonetheless, despite the rebuttals, the incident in Genoa has initiated combined efforts to conduct independent operations and exert more investigation to the maritime affairs of Saudi Arabia, which exemplified a cloudy backdrop of the policy regarding Saudi Arabia compared to its ethical statements.
Yemen’s Conflict and Arms Supply
Probably the most sinister one in the recent history of Saudi Arabia foreign policy is the invasion of Yemen that the Saudi Arabia government has been carrying out since 2015. Saudi Arabia is at the forefront of a coalition that has been involved in large volume airstrike campaigns, naval blockade and ground offensives against the Houthi rebels, who have forced the internationally recognised Yemeni government out of big sections of their country. The ongoing conflict in Yemen is viewed by many observes, including the analysts in Al Jazeera and other local media stations as a kind of proxy warring between the majority-Sunni Saudi Arabia and the majority Shia Iran with the two nations, most times, supporting conflicting sides on the ground. Saudi Arabia also supports the Yemeni government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi that had been recognised by the UN Security Council resolutions in Resolution 2216 (2015).
The maritime activities of Bahri are once more in the limelight as it transports weapons and military equipment to Saudi forces that partake in Yemen. Research carried out by anti-war movements and human rights groups in Europe found out that the Bahri ships are regularly transporting arms to Saudi Arabia including ammunition, explosives and heavy arms through European ports like Antwerp. The CSO estimates by Amnesty international reveal that since the commencement of the war, Bahri has delivered hundreds of millions of euros of American and European, military equipment.
This weapon provision has been closely associated with a high number of the war crime charges charged against Saudi-led coalition such as civilian target attack and starvation weapons used in blocking of the sea by the coalition. The condition in Yemen is termed the worst humanitarian crisis in the world since more than 24 million people approximately 80 percent of the total population are in need of aid and millions have been starved, stricken by diseases, displaced, and basic services are becoming non-functional due to continuous conflict as stated by the United Nations and various humanitarian agencies. The importance of Bahri in this war as a logistic lifeline highlights the corporate aspects of this Saudi war machine and the intense intertwining of the business interests with devastating geopolitics.
Geopolitical Agenda
To appreciate the role of Bahri Saudi Shipping Company in such conflicts, it is important to understand Saudi geopolitical agenda in general. Saudi Arabia is a traditional foe of the occupation policies of Israel but over the past ten years is slowly moving towards an avoidance of confrontation with Israel over mutual fears of allowing Iran to consolidate its influence in the region. In the past, Saudi Arabia has opposed the occupation policies of Israel, but over the last ten years there has been growing signs of it engaging in limited relations with Israel due to a shared worry of Iran and its growing role in the region, especially in Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen (Israel-Saudi Arabia relations).
According to the reports this rapprochement has involved activities such as secret intelligence-sharing at least on the issue of Iranian missile programs, discreet delegations meeting each other in the third nations and initial discussions of prospective technology and trade association. In the example, Wall Street Journal (2025) and Congress.Gov (2025) cover the cases when Israeli and Saudi officials met to align security policies against Iran.
At the same time, Saudi Arabia still tends to regard Yemen as the essential buffer area that must be maintained to ensure access to the important strategic waterways, such as the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which is essential to overall oil traffic and vital to the regional security. The kingdom views the Houthi movement as a proxy of Iranian policy and a serious direct threat to its southern borders, which influenced the long and violent military operation that is criticised by the international community and labeled as war crimes.
The fact that Saudi Arabia publicly defends Palestinian rights and at the same simultaneously advances its strategic relations with the state of Israel and intensifies its military operations in Yemen presents a complex, at times self-contradictory policy based on the logic of realpolitik, the calculations of regional power interests, and the unification of the domestic and foreign policy of the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Conclusion
The controversies surrounding Bahri Saudi Shipping Company reveal much more than a logistics enterprise; they expose a nexus of geopolitical interests, ethical dilemmas, and the harsh realities of Middle Eastern conflicts. The ship interception in Genoa spotlighted Bahri’s alleged role in facilitating arms shipments during an ongoing genocide in Gaza, while its broader operations underpin Saudi Arabia’s war efforts in Yemen, exacerbating one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.
While the company officially denies transporting weapons to Israel and asserts full compliance with policies and international law, evidence from protests, investigations, and independent reports portrays a different picture—one of a state and its corporate instruments engaged in complex and controversial power plays with severe human costs.
For novice readers, it is essential to recognise that Bahri operates at the intersection of commerce and conflict, reflecting Saudi Arabia’s evolving and contentious role on the world stage. The ongoing scrutiny of these activities underscores the urgent need for transparency, accountability, and adherence to international humanitarian norms in international shipping—and for the global community to hold such actors to those standards.
