2024-01-17 07:54:38
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- Author, The editorial team
- Scroll, BBC News World
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11 minutes ago
It is no coincidence that its name, Bab el Mandeb, means in Arabic “the door of tears” or “the door of sorrow”.
It alludes to the dangers – from currents and winds to piracy and conflict – that for millennia have faced sailors transiting the entrance to the Red Sea from the Indian Ocean, between Yemen, Djibouti and Eritrea.
These dangers are greater today than ever.
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The Mandeb Strait is in the news due to armed attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militia once morest ships from several countries plying one of the busiest international trade routes.
In response, the US and UK have bombed several areas controlled by the Houthis, predominantly Shiite radical Islamist insurgents fighting for power in Yemen’s ongoing civil war.
The Mandeb Strait has thus become the scene of an international conflict.
But what does it look like and what is its commercial and geopolitical importance?
A historic corridor
Let us first recall the history of this important maritime corridor.
115 kilometers long, the Bab el Mandeb Strait connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
It is 36 kilometers wide at its narrowest part, where the island of Perim is located, which divides the strait into two channels with opposing currents.
This body of water has played a crucial role in trade, culture and conflict for much of the history of human civilization.
Its commercial value was recognized as far back as ancient Egypt, with expeditions in search of precious goods such as incense, gold and exotic animals, while the Romans relied on this passage to trade with India and the East.
Beginning in the Middle Ages, the Bab el Mandeb Strait established itself as an important trade route for spices, textiles and other products, enriching the empires of the time and, later, European powers such as Portugal, Spain and, later, the British Empire on their routes to India and the East Indies.
However, it was the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 that made the Bab el Mandeb a vital passage to complete the shortest sea route between Europe and Asia.
Why is it important?
The geopolitical importance of the Mandeb Strait has been highlighted by its proximity to conflict zones such as Yemen, which is embroiled in civil war.
Image caption,
The Houthis control part of Yemen’s far west, near the Mandeb Strait.
These conflicts, combined with pirate activities in the region, explain the military presence of world powers, particularly the United States, and their forceful responses to actions that endanger maritime traffic in the region.
The Red Sea corridor is one of the busiest in the world, carrying around a quarter of global maritime trade.
Among the billions of tons of goods that pass through this route, some 4.5 million barrels of oil pass from countries in the Middle East and Asia to the West each day, according to the U.S. National Information Administration. energy (US Energy Information Administration).
Additionally, 8% of global liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments passed through the strait last year, making it a vital artery for global energy supplies.
Indeed, the incidents that occurred in Bab el Mandeb have immediate effects on the world prices of these vital resources.
Between Wednesday and Friday, the price of Brent crude oil rose 5%, surpassing $80 a barrel, which experts attributed to tensions in the Red Sea that forced many tankers to reroute, delaying shipments. deliveries and increased costs.
Photo credit, Getty Images
Image caption,
Dozens of ships with thousands of tons of cargo cross the strait every day.
And, beyond oil and gas, the Mandeb Strait is part of the main route between East and West, with several dozen cargo ships passing through its waters every day.
Many have also decided to divert their routes to the western Indian Ocean by taking the much longer route to the Cape of Good Hope, at the southern tip of Africa,
This adds thousands of miles to journeys, increases costs and delays deliveries of vital components to the commodity and consumer goods manufacturing chain.
In recent weeks, the price of shipping a container from East Asia to Northern Europe has almost tripled.
From accidents to pirates to missiles
This is not the first time that an incident in this area has affected maritime traffic and had significant repercussions on global trade.
For example, in 2021, the Panama-flagged container ship Ever Given ran aground in the Suez Canal, causing blockage of the corridor and creating bottlenecks in global supply chains, with increases costs and delays in the delivery of oil and products of all kinds.
Photo credit, Getty Images
Image caption,
The Houthi rebels began to indiscriminately attack ships passing through the strait.
Previously, particularly between 2008 and 2012, the Bab el Mandeb Strait and its surroundings were the scene of numerous attacks by pirates, mainly from Somalia, who kidnapped ship crews to demand money in exchange for their release, which had already prompted the international community, as well as shipping companies, to strengthen security.
More than a decade later, the main threat in the strait comes from the other side, with attacks from Houthi rebels.
Houthi rebels have justified their attacks in the Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea as a response to Israel’s war once morest Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
They say their drone and missile offensives target ships in or bound for Israel.
In practice, however, attacks affect all types of ships which, in most cases, have no connection to Israel and are heading to other countries.
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