Crisis in Babulmandeb Strait: Ship traffic dropped by 88%

This deadlock in Babulmandeb, added to the crisis created by the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz in global trade and energy supply, has left the strategic waterway facing the calmest days in its history.

Babulmandeb Strait, which carries 10 percent of world maritime trade and 12 percent of crude oil transportation, has become the breaking point of the international supply chain due to the new military realities in the field.

The conflicts that have escalated again in Yemen since July have noticeably changed the control map in the field.

After gaining control over the entire Hudaydah province, the Houthis (Ansarullah Movement) advanced towards the west of Taiz and captured cities on the Red Sea coast such as Muha and the lines providing access to Babulmandeb.

The Houthis' capture of the city of Muha in Taiz on the Red Sea coast, as well as the Hanish Archipelago, Meyyun Island and Zubab around the Babulmandeb Strait, caused a significant change in the conflict area.

The change in control of Meyyun Island, at the entrance of the western channel, which most of the commercial ships use for safe navigation distance, has increased the security risks in the strait to the highest level.

Ship traffic dropped 88 percent in 24 hours

According to the data compiled by the AA correspondent from maritime tracking systems, this military activity in the field brought commercial ship traffic in the Bosphorus to a halt.

According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) PortWatch data, traffic in the Babulmandeb Strait, where an average of 33 ships should transit daily under normal conditions, dropped by 88 percent. Only 4 commercial ships were able to pass through the strait in the last 24 hours.

The passage of oil and chemical product tankers in the Bosphorus, one of the main arteries of global energy supply, decreased by 91 percent to only 1 ship in the last 24 hours.

Container ship transits also fell 86 percent below average. Despite the high risks in the region, the few ships that completed the passage were seen to be flagged by Panama, Singapore, Liberia and Ethiopia.

Companies are changing the route to the Cape of Good Hope

Babulmandeb, also known as the "Gate of Tears" in maritime history, plays the role of the most critical southern gate for goods and oil going from Asia to Europe via the Suez Canal, as well as commodities heading to Asia. However, global shipping and energy companies, which have lost safe passage due to the escalating military tension on the west coast of Yemen, continue to turn their routes to the Cape of Good Hope in the south of Africa.

It is stated that going around the African continent extends travel times by weeks, increasing freight and insurance costs.

Analysts state that the Houthis' increasing pressure on the strait could trigger a new wave of rise in global oil prices.

Saudi Arabia's energy corridor is also in danger

The congestion in the region also directly affects alternative route plans on global energy lines. Thanks to its East-West Oil Pipeline, Saudi Arabia can completely bypass the Strait of Hormuz by transporting its crude oil directly to Red Sea ports. However, oil tankers that load from these ports and sail southwards and want to proceed to global markets must pass through the Babülmandeb Strait to complete their journey. Locking the strait directly endangers the exit of this strategic line bypassing Hormuz.