A major maritime chokepoint linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden is coming under increasing pressure, raising fresh concerns for global oil supplies, shipping costs and businesses already struggling with elevated transport expenses.
According to a report by CNN’s Anna Cooban, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have intensified their threats to commercial shipping around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a narrow waterway between Yemen and Djibouti that serves as one of the key routes for energy and international trade.
The development has become more significant following the disruption of the nearby Strait of Hormuz, another critical oil route. With shipping through Hormuz severely affected, the Bab al-Mandeb has assumed greater importance as an alternative route for moving Middle Eastern crude to international markets.
CNN reported that the Houthis have, within the past 48 hours, tightened their control around the strategic waterway, including the reported capture of the port city of Mocha and the strategically located Perim Island. The developments have heightened fears that commercial vessels could face greater security risks while using the route.
The immediate impact is already being felt in oil transportation. Richard Bronze, co-founder of Energy Aspects, told CNN that Saudi crude exports through Bab al-Mandeb had fallen sharply from about three million barrels per day at their peak to roughly 400,000 barrels per day in August, with flows declining further since then.
The disruption is particularly important for Saudi Arabia, which has increasingly relied on its East-to-West pipeline to move crude to the Red Sea port of Yanbu following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. At its peak, about 4.5 million barrels of crude per day were exported from Yanbu, with approximately three million barrels per day passing through Bab al-Mandeb, according to Bronze.
The business implications extend well beyond the oil industry. If the strait becomes unusable, tankers and other commercial vessels may be forced to take longer alternative routes, increasing fuel consumption, insurance premiums, freight charges and delivery times. Those additional costs can eventually reach manufacturers, importers, retailers and consumers through higher prices.
For businesses dependent on predictable international supply chains, the situation represents another major risk. Higher shipping costs and longer delivery periods could affect everything from crude oil and refined petroleum products to food, raw materials and manufactured goods, potentially adding fresh pressure to inflation.
The disruption also places greater importance on the availability of alternative pipelines, ports and shipping routes. Countries and companies that depend heavily on Middle Eastern energy supplies may have to reassess their logistics and energy-security strategies if instability around the Red Sea persists.
For the global economy, the Bab al-Mandeb crisis therefore goes beyond a regional security problem. It threatens one of the maritime arteries through which energy and goods reach international markets, meaning prolonged disruption could translate into higher operating costs for businesses and renewed pressure on already vulnerable global supply chains.
As Bronze warned in comments to CNN, the weakening of the Bab al-Mandeb route is a signal of how difficult the global oil market could become when multiple strategic shipping corridors are simultaneously placed under pressure.
