Bab el- Mandeb
Red Sea ↔ Gulf of Aden — the choke between Yemen and the Horn of Africa.
Open the live Bab el-Mandeb tracker
See every vessel currently in the Bab el-Mandeb, with sanctioned vessels highlighted in red.
Launch live map →How many ships pass through the Bab el-Mandeb each day?
Roughly 60 to 80 vessels per day on average. Annual traffic, live composition by vessel type, and real-time density are visible on our live tracker.
Why the Bab el-Mandeb matters
Bab el-Mandeb is the southern bookend of the Suez transit corridor. Any vessel using Suez between Europe and the Indian Ocean must transit Bab el-Mandeb. Roughly 12% of seaborne oil and 10% of global trade passes through. Houthi attacks since 2024 have made this the most actively risk-monitored chokepoint in the world — traffic has redirected via the Cape of Good Hope, adding weeks and tens of millions of dollars in fuel per round trip.
Geography
Bab el-Mandeb is a 32-kilometre-wide strait between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti / Eritrea on the Horn of Africa, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. It is the southern gateway of the Suez Canal sea route.
Dimensions and constraints
The strait is approximately 32 km wide at its narrowest, split by Perim Island into two channels: the eastern Bab Iskender (3 km wide, deeper) and the western Dact-el-Mayun (26 km wide). Both channels accommodate the largest tankers, but most commercial traffic uses the western channel for safety distance from the Yemeni coast.
About the data
Vessel positions come from aggregated terrestrial and satellite AIS, de-duplicated across multiple providers. The public feed is delayed approximately 60 to 180 seconds from broadcast. Commercial users with a paid plan get full vessel detail — voyage history, draught classification, sanctions context, ownership chain.
Frequently asked questions
How many ships pass through Bab el-Mandeb each day?
Historically 60 to 80 vessels per day; since late 2023 Houthi attacks have caused a significant share of commercial traffic — particularly container ships — to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope, suppressing transit volume. Our live tracker reflects real-time conditions.
Is Bab el-Mandeb currently safe to transit?
Conditions change. Since 2023 Houthi missile, drone, and USV attacks on commercial shipping have made the Red Sea / Bab el-Mandeb the highest-threat corridor in commercial shipping. Many container operators reroute via the Cape; some bulk and tanker traffic continues. Real-time vessel flow remains the most reliable operational signal — our live map above.
Why is Bab el-Mandeb so important?
It is the southern gate of the Suez Canal route. Any vessel transiting between Europe and the Indian Ocean via Suez must pass through Bab el-Mandeb. Closing the strait effectively closes Suez — adding 9,000 km and weeks of transit time via the Cape of Good Hope.
What types of ships transit Bab el-Mandeb?
Crude and product tankers from the Arabian Gulf to Europe; container ships on the Asia-Europe trade lane; LNG and LPG carriers from Qatar and the UAE; bulk carriers; car carriers; naval task groups (US, UK, French, EU, multinational counter-piracy and counter-Houthi). The strait sees the full spectrum, modified by current re-routing.
How wide and deep is Bab el-Mandeb?
About 32 km wide at the narrowest, split into two channels by Perim Island. The eastern Bab Iskender is 3 km wide and deeper; the western Dact-el-Mayun is 26 km wide. Both accept fully laden VLCCs and ULCCs.
Why does Bab el-Mandeb matter for sanctions monitoring?
Tankers loading Iranian, Russian, and Venezuelan crude bound for Asian markets routinely transit Bab el-Mandeb. The current threat environment also drives unusual vessel behaviour — AIS gaps, flag changes, transponder spoofing — making real-time identification critical. Our sanctioned overlay highlights any flagged vessel inside the strait.
Other chokepoints we cover
Strait Up Maritime tracks seven maritime chokepoints. Same dataset, same sanctioned overlay, same 60-second refresh.