The Bab al-Mandab Strait is a narrow maritime passage and a critical global chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Geographically, it separates Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula from Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa. Its name, translating from Arabic as the "Gate of Tears," reflects the historical dangers of its navigation.
The strait's strategic importance was fundamentally established with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. This created the shortest maritime route between Europe and Asia, making the strait the indispensable southern gateway to the Suez Canal. It is a vital artery for global trade, with approximately 10–12% of global maritime trade, including significant volumes of crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), passing through it.
The mechanism governing its use is the regime of transit passage under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982. UNCLOS Articles 37 to 44 secure a right of continuous and expeditious navigation through the strait, which is legally non-suspendable. The strait is a key component of the continuous maritime corridor that also includes the Strait of Hormuz.
While the legal framework of UNCLOS remains unchanged, the operational reality has been recently and dramatically altered. Geopolitical instability, particularly attacks by the Houthi group in Yemen, has caused a sharp decline in traffic. By the end of 2024, overall ship traffic had plummeted by 50% to 66%, with oil flows decreasing by over 50%, forcing global shipping to reroute around Africa.