InBab-el-Mandeb,Bab means "gate" whileMandeb means "lamentation" or "grief". The strait derives its name from the dangers attending its navigation or, according to an Arab legend, from the numbers who were drowned by an earthquake that separated theArabian Peninsula from theHorn of Africa.[2]
Paleo-environmental andtectonic events in theMiocene epoch created the Danakil Isthmus, a land bridge forming a broad connection between Yemen and Ethiopia.[3] During the last 100,000 years,eustatic sea level fluctuations have led to alternate opening and closing of the straits.[4] According to therecent single origin hypothesis, the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb were probably witness to theearliest migrations ofmodern humans across continents. It is presumed that the oceans were then much lower and the straits were much shallower or dry, which allowed a series of emigrations along the southern coast of Asia.
In Arab tradition it is reported that in ancient times Asia and Africa were joined together, untilthey were split at the Bab-el-Mandeb.Yaqut al-Hamawi associates the name Bab-el-Mandeb with the 6th century crossing of theAksumites over the sea to Yemen. Two Sabaean inscriptions of the early 6th century mentionsilsilat al-Mandab in connection with the conflict betweenDhu Nuwas and the Aksumites.[5]
TheBritish East India Company unilaterally seized the island ofPerim in 1799 on behalf of itsIndian empire. The government ofBritain asserted its ownership in 1857 and erected a lighthouse there in 1861, using it to command theRed Sea and the trade routes through the Suez Canal.[2] It was used as a coaling station to refuel steamships until 1935 when the reduced use of coal as fuel rendered the operation unprofitable.[6]
The British presence continued until 1967 when the island became part of thePeople's Republic of South Yemen. Before the handover, the British government had put forward before theUnited Nations a proposal for the island to be internationalized[7][8] as a way to ensure the continued security of passage and navigation in the Bab-el-Mandeb, but this was refused.
In 2008 a company owned byTarek bin Laden unveiled plans to build a bridge named Bridge of the Horns across the strait, linkingYemen withDjibouti.[9] Middle East Development LLC issued a notice to construct a bridge passing across the Red Sea that would be the longest suspended passing in the world.[10] The project was assigned to two Danish companies: engineering companyCOWI in collaboration with architect studioDissing+Weitling. However, the announced delay to Phase 1 in 2010 and the lack of any further updates since makes this a defunct project.
The Bab-el-Mandeb acts as a strategic link between theIndian Ocean and theMediterranean Sea via the Red Sea and theSuez Canal. Most exports of petroleum and natural gas from the Persian Gulf that transit the Suez Canal or theSUMED Pipeline pass through both the Bab el-Mandeb and theStrait of Hormuz.[11] While the narrow width of the strait requires vessels to travel through theterritorial sea of adjacent states, under the purview of Article 37 of theUnited Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the legal concept oftransit passage applies to Bab el-Mandeb, although Eritrea (unlike the rest of coastal countries) is not a party to the convention.[12]
Chokepoints are narrow channels along widely used global sea routes that are critical to global energy security. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is 26 kilometres (14 nautical miles) wide at its narrowest point, limiting tanker traffic to two 2-mile-wide channels for inbound and outbound shipments.[11][2]
Closure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait could keep tankers originating in the Persian Gulf from transiting the Suez Canal or reaching the SUMED Pipeline, forcing them to divert around the southern tip of Africa, which would increase transit time and shipping costs.
In 2006, an estimated 3.3 million barrels (520,000 m3) of oil passed through the strait per day, out of a world total of about 43 million barrels per day (6,800,000 m3/d) moved bytankers.[13] This rose by 2014 to 5.1 million barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil, condensate and refined petroleum products headed toward Europe, the United States, and Asia, then an estimated 6.2 million b/d by 2018. Total petroleum flows through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait accounted for about 9% of total seaborne-traded petroleum (crude oil and refined petroleum products) in 2017. About 3.6 million b/d moved north toward Europe; another 2.6 million b/d flowed in the opposite direction mainly to Asian markets such as Singapore, China, and India.[11]
Significance for (maritime) security and geopolitics
The Bab-el-Mandeb is widely regarded to play a key role ininternational,regional andmaritime security in theMiddle East,East Africa, theRed Sea, theGulf of Aden[14]. The strait is only 26 kilometres wide at its narrowest point and is considered achoke point, which makes the Bab-el-Mandeb not only of economic interest, but also of military strategic interest[15][16]. The Bab-el-Mandeb is also an important corridor for geostrategic cables underneath the narrow strait passage at the Bab-el-Mandeb, includingpower cables andfibre-optic cables used for communication, which in turn makes them used by intelligence services for surveillance[17]. Although the Bab-el-Mandeb, legally, is aninternational strait and atransit passage, its strategic position has madecommand of the sea over the strait key to military influence in the region[16]. The Bab-el-Mandeb is often discussed alongside other major maritime chokepoints, such asSuez Canal and theStrait of Hormuz, due to their shared importance for (maritime) security in the region[18][19][20][21].
From sea, claims of control of the Bab-el-Mandeb have been made from theUnited States since the end ofWorld War II through US-led naval operations in the area from theUnited States Naval Forces Central Command inBahrain[38]. In 2002 the formal naval partnershipCombined Maritime Forces was established. The force conducts maritime control missions in the area and is supported by contributions from 46 countries[39][40]. This includes latest theCombined Task Force 153 in April 2022 to ensure maritime security for the Bab-el-Mandab, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Measures also include efforts all to ensure safe transit passage through the strait[41].
Following the 19th of October after the invasion of the Gaza Strip by theIDF the Iran-backedHouthis in Yemen attacked Israel, American and British tankers in the Red Sea, and commercial ships[42][43]. A conflict which continued until a ceasefire was brokered in late 2025[44]. Theasymmetric warfare of the Houthis usinganti-access/area denial shows how the Houthis were able to effectively change the security situation in the Red Sea by using the chokepoint of the Bab-el-Mandeb and the national waters of Yemen as a strategic advantage. TheHouthis have been backed by Iran in the broaderAxis of Resistance[45] and theCRINK-alliance haveallegedly, supported the Houthis with among other things weapons, dual-use weapons andgeospatial intelligence[46]. Equally, there have been references to tracked navy ships in the area from Russia[47].
Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb with Perim Island in the distance
The distance across is about 26 kilometres (14 nmi) fromRas Menheli in Yemen toRas Siyyan in Djibouti. The island ofPerim divides the strait into two channels, of which the eastern, known as theBab Iskender (Alexander's Strait), is 5.37 kilometres (2.90 nmi) wide and has a depth of 29metres; 96feet (16 fathoms) deep, while the western, orDact-el-Mayun, has a width of 20.3 kilometres (11.0 nmi) and a depth of 310 metres; 1,020 feet (170 fathoms). Near the coast of Djibouti lies a group of smaller islands known as the "Seven Brothers". There is a surface current inwards in the eastern channel, but a strong undercurrent outwards in the western channel.[2]
^Étrangères, Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires."France and Djibouti".France Diplomacy - Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. RetrievedDecember 30, 2025.
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