Iran-backed Houthi rebels joined the month-long conflict in the Middle East on Saturday, saying they had fired two rockets at Israel. Around 2,500 US sailors have been deployed to the region Pakistani Shehbaz Sharif said regional leaders would meet on Sunday to discuss ways to end the war.
The conflict has threatened global oil and gas supplies, led to fertilizer shortages and disrupted air travel. Iranian control over strategic Strait of Hormuz unsettled the markets and drove prices up. The United States and Israel continue to attack Iran, which has responded with attacks on Israel and the nearby Arab countries of the Persian Gulf. The death toll exceeded 3,000.
Houthi involvement could further disrupt global shipping, especially if they resume attacks on vessels in Strait of Bab el-Mandeb in the Red Sea, a route that typically carries about 12% of global trade.
What is Bab el-Mandeb Strait?
Bab el-Mandeb, meaning “Gate of Tears”, is a narrow waterway that connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. It lies between Yemen in the northeast and Eritrea and Djibouti in the southwest. Perim Island divides the strait into two channels, according to Bloomberg.
The western channel, which is wider and deeper, is used by larger ships and measures about 25 kilometers across at its narrowest point, with a depth of about 170 fathoms (310 meters).
Maritime Connection Points of the Arabian Peninsula:
Source: US Energy Information Administration.
A smaller channel runs along the Yemen coast and is about two miles wide. Maritime traffic through the strait is organized into separate arrival and departure lanes, each approximately two miles wide.
Why is Bab el-Mandeb Strait important?
The Bab el-Mandeb strait is a vital link on the trade route connecting the Mediterranean Sea with Asia. Using Egypt’s Suez Canal, ships transporting goods between Europe and Asia, as well as Middle Eastern oil bound for Europe and North America, pass through it.
Read also | Germany to review reactivation of coal-fired power plants amid energy crisis Bab el-Mandeb Waterway, an essential transit point for merchant ships that use Egypt’s Suez Canal. Source: Energy Information Administration. Based on 2016 data.
At its narrowest point, the strait is about 18 miles wide, limiting tanker movement to two channels, each roughly two miles wide for inbound and outbound traffic.
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The Bab el-Mandeb strait serves as a key route for shipments of Saudi oil from the port of Yanbu on the kingdom’s west coast. Saudi Arabia moves several million barrels of oil a day from its eastern fields to Yanbu by pipeline, allowing it to bypass Iran’s obstruction of the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, approximately 4.8 million barrels of crude oil and refined petroleum products per day passed through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait en route to Europe, the United States and Asia in 2016 – up from 3.3 million barrels per day in 2011.
Source: US Energy Information Administration, based on ClipperData, Inc; Suez Canal Administration; and International Group of LNG Importers (GIIGNL) using EIA conversion factors.
If Bab el-Mandeb is blocked, can oil exporters bypass the strait?
If Bab el-Mandeb were closed, oil tankers leaving the Persian Gulf would be unable to access the Suez Canal or the SUMED pipeline, disrupting key global energy routes, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
However, shipments of oil from the Persian Gulf to Europe and North America can avoid Bab el-Mandeb by taking a longer route around the southern tip of Africa, according to a Bloomberg report.
However, this increases travel distances.
For example, the journey from Fujairah to Houston will be extended by about 2,660 nautical miles, a roughly 28% increase. The distance to Rotterdam will increase by about 4,800 nautical miles, or 78%, while the trip to Augusta, Italy, will nearly triple to about 10,860 nautical miles, Bloomberg reported.
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These longer routes increase transport and fuel costs and can disrupt supply chains. According to Bloomberg tanker tracking data, it takes about 22 days to ship oil from Saudi Arabia to Rotterdam via Bab el-Mandeb and the Suez Canal, compared with about 39 days when diverted around Africa, the report said.
Bab el-Mandeb Strait as a political tool?
The strait has historically been used by political actors as a strategic tool to inflict economic damage on their rivals. During the Yom Kippur War, Egyptian forces effectively cut off Israeli trade by blocking access through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
In 2002, a French oil tanker was targeted by a terrorist attack near the Yemeni coast.
Yemen also relies heavily on this route to export oil and petroleum products.
Any disruption to navigation through the strait would have serious economic consequences for the country and could also increase global oil and fuel prices.
Between November 2023 and January 2025, Houthi rebels attacked more than 100 merchant ships with missiles and drones, sinking two of them. The group claimed the attacks were in support of Palestinians in Gaza during the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the AP reported.
Renewed Houthi activity could complicate the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford, which arrived in Croatia on Saturday for maintenance.
Sending the carrier to the Red Sea could expose it to attacks similar to those experienced by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in 2024 and the USS Harry S. Truman in 2025.
(With input from agencies)
