Bab el-Mandeb
Yemen / Djibouti
100
Risk Score
~60 vessels/day
9% of global trade
Crude Oil, LNG, Containers
Strategic Overview
Bab el-Mandeb connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. It is a critical chokepoint for Suez Canal traffic and Red Sea commerce.
Threat Drivers
Recent Incidents (7)
15.06.2026: 1350 UTC: Posn: 12:24.13N – 046:46.55E, Gulf of Aden. Seeing an approaching skiff, a tanker underway commenced evasive manoeuvres. As the skiff an RPG was fired towards the vessel which missed. The onboard armed security team returned fire resulting in the pirates aborting the approach and moving away.
Missile/drone strike reported in the Red Sea region.
EU’s Kallas Says Two Countries May Send Ships to Counter Houthis. (Bloomberg) — Two countries signaled interest in sending ships to counter Houthi strikes in the Red Sea, top European Union diplomat Kaja Kallas said. Kallas has been pressing countries to...
Armed attack on vessel reported in the Red Sea region.
Armed boarding or piracy incident reported in the Gulf of Aden region.
Navigation warning issued in the Red Sea region.
US-Sanctioned Oil Tanker ‘Sibu 1’ Rescued from Somali Pirates. A US-sanctioned oil tanker, Sibu 1, has been freed after being hijacked by Somali pirates in August, the maritime police force in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region said on Friday.