Bab-el-Mandeb Strait
E1. Maritime security, geopolitics and riskDefinition
Chokepoint between Yemen and Djibouti linking the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Bab-el-Mandeb is the strait between Yemen and Djibouti connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, the southern gateway to the Suez Canal and a corridor for about 10 percent of seaborne trade. Its narrowness, roughly 18 nautical miles, and the Perim Island split make it a natural ambush point. Houthi missile and drone attacks on shipping from late 2023 forced large diversions around the Cape of Good Hope and drew the Prosperity Guardian and EU Aspides naval coalitions.