The Bab-el-Mandeb is a strait and a major global chokepoint between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Like the Strait of Hormuz, Bab al-Mandeb is an exceedingly narrow waterway through which a significant chunk of the global economy transits. It’s just 14 miles wide at its narrowest point between Saudi Arabia and Djibouti, about 40% narrower than Hormuz. Free transit of ships in the Strait of Hormuz is now blocked due to the ongoing violent conflict between Iran and the USA.

Energy specialists and oil traders are now worried about the new choke point in the area called Bab Al-Mandeb on the Red Sea. If the transit of ships is blocked through this waterway the results will be very serious and catastrophic on the oil markets and on global commerce and there are fears that hostilities in the gulf region will spread wider leading to a more destructive and bloody war. The Houthi Militia known as a proxy of Iran in Yemen announced a blockade of all Saudi ships after the attack on Sanaa airport on 13th July. The Houthi Militia has successfully blocked the Red sea in the past and stopped all traffic from Israel after the Israeli attacks on Ghaza, in solidarity with the Palestinians.

The latest threat of a complete blockade will have a much wider global impact because of the conditions in the Strait of Hormuz due to the........

© The Friday Times