Chokepoint Guide
Bab-el-Mandeb Strait
Gateway between the Red Sea and Indian Ocean — under Houthi attack
Overview
The Bab-el-Mandeb ('Gate of Tears' in Arabic) is a strait between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti and Eritrea on the Horn of Africa. It connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, making it the southern gateway to the Suez Canal route. The strait is approximately 29 kilometers wide at its narrowest point. Since late 2023, it has become the most kinetically active maritime threat zone in the world due to Houthi attacks on commercial shipping.
Strategic Importance
Approximately 6–7 million barrels of oil and petroleum products pass through the Bab-el-Mandeb daily. Before the Houthi attack campaign began in October 2023, the strait was transited by approximately 17,000 ships per year, representing roughly 10–15% of global seaborne trade and 30% of global container traffic. Ships that cannot use the Suez route must divert around the Cape of Good Hope — adding 10–14 days and 3,500–4,000 nautical miles per round trip.
Key Facts
Second most important global shipping chokepoint after Hormuz
~10–15% of global seaborne trade transited pre-crisis (2023)
30% of global container traffic used this route via Suez
Houthi attacks since Oct 2023 have rerouted 80–90% of previous Suez traffic
Suez Canal revenues fell ~60% year-on-year in 2024
Yemen controls the eastern shore; Djibouti and Eritrea the western shore
The US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian patrols the strait but has not eliminated the threat
Current Risk Assessment
Attacks by Houthi forces based in Yemen continue intermittently. Houthis have deployed anti-ship missiles, drones, ballistic missiles, and naval mines against commercial vessels. Most major container carriers (Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, Evergreen) continue to avoid the Red Sea and Bab-el-Mandeb entirely, routing via the Cape of Good Hope instead. War-risk insurance premiums for vessels transiting the strait remain 5–10× pre-crisis levels.
Historical Context
The Bab-el-Mandeb was a focus of piracy activity from Somali-based groups in the early 2010s, before multinational naval operations (Combined Task Force 150/151) significantly reduced the threat. The strait gained renewed strategic importance with the opening of the Suez Canal extension in 2015. The current Houthi attack campaign — which began in October 2023 in stated solidarity with Gaza — is the most severe and sustained threat to freedom of navigation in the strait in modern history.