Maj Gen P K Mallick, VSM (Retd)
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, situated between Djibouti and Yemen, represents the southern entry point to the Red Sea and holds strategic importance in connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean.
People dance on the deck of the Galaxy Leader commercial ship, seized by Yemen's Houthis last month, off the coast of al-Salif, Yemen (Image/Reuters)
Bab al-Mandab, also known as the “Gate of Tears,” is a narrow strait connecting the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, serving as a crucial link between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It spans approximately 20 miles at its narrowest point, bordered by Djibouti to the west and Yemen to the east. This strait is a vital maritime route, facilitating the movement of vessels between Europe and Asia.
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, situated between Djibouti and Yemen, represents the southern entry point to the Red Sea and holds strategic importance in connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, it limits shipping traffic to two narrow channels for both inbound and outbound shipments.
The strait, measuring 18 miles in width at its narrowest point between the Arabian and African coasts, constrains tanker traffic to two 2-mile-wide channels. Perim Island divides the strait into the eastern channel, known as Bab Iskender, and the western channel. The former is approximately 2 miles wide and 98 feet deep, while the latter spans about 16 miles in width with a depth of 1,017 feet. A group of small islands lies off the African coast.
Due to Western sanctions on Russian oil exports, there has been a significant increase in southbound shipments through the Suez Canal between 2021 and 2023. Russia’s oil exports, accounting for 74% of southbound traffic in the first half of 2023, are primarily headed to India and China. Meanwhile, the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, escalated imports of refined oil products from Russia during 2022 and the first half of 2023.
Maritime security concerns in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb area are linked to Yemen’s militarized islands. Since 2015, armed groups, including the Iranian-backed Houthis and forces supported by the UAE, have controlled Yemeni islands. The strategic significance of these islands has led to heightened maritime attacks, particularly between 2015 and 2017. Since 2017, Emirati-backed forces have gained control of the Bab el-Mandeb area, pushing the Houthis to withdraw. However, the focus of tension shifted to the Southern Red Sea, where the Houthis maintained control over Hodeida, the main port on the Yemeni Western coast, securing key chokepoints since early 2023.
On November 19, 2023, the Houthis seized the car carrier Galaxy Leader, which was transporting automobiles from India to Turkey. The ship is operated by a Japanese company, flies a Bahamian flag but is owned by Ray Shipping, a British company that is partially owned by an Israeli businessman. The Galaxy Leader was diverted to the Houthi-controlled Hodeida port. This is an example of the international nature of commercial ships today, making the identification of the nationality of a specific ship an extremely difficult task. Commercial ships are practically a non-national means of transportation, serving the international community in general for global trade.
The closure of the Bab el-Mandeb could impact tanker routes from the Persian Gulf, diverting them around the southern tip of Africa, thus increasing transit time and costs. Additionally, European and North African southbound oil flows would no longer have the most direct route to Asian markets via the Suez Canal and Bab el-Mandeb.
The author is an Indian Army Veteran
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