Renewed attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels are once again disrupting one of the world’s most important maritime trade corridors, threatening Egypt’s efforts to revive Suez Canal traffic and raising the prospect of higher shipping costs for businesses across Africa.
According to vessel-tracking data from Kpler cited by Reuters, only 11 commodity tankers passed through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Sunday, the lowest daily volume recorded in several months.
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, serves as the southern gateway to Egypt’s Suez Canal.
Together, the two waterways form one of the world’s most critical shipping corridors, carrying a significant share of global seaborne trade and oil shipments between Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
The latest slowdown follows a renewed escalation by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement, an armed group that controls much of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sana’a.
