The Bab Al-Mandab Strait

Roughly 4.2 million barrels of oil pass through the narrow Bab al-Mandeb Strait each day in the first half of 2025 -- about 6 percent of all seaborne-traded oil -- making it one of the world's most critical maritime chokepoints.

IRAQ

IRAN

ISRAEL

Suez Canal

Strait of Hormuz

Persian Gulf

East–West Crude Oil Pipeline

RIYADH

YANBU OIL

TERMINAL

SAUDI ARABIA

Red Sea

Houthi controlled territory

YEMEN

SANAA

HODEIDAH

Gulf of Aden

DJIBOUTI

Bab al-Mandab

Strait

At its narrowest the strait

is 26 km wide

IRAQ

ISRAEL

IRAN

Suez Canal

Strait of Hormuz

Persian Gulf

East–West Crude Oil Pipeline

RIYADH

Gulf of Oman

YANBU OIL

TERMINAL

SAUDI ARABIA

Red Sea

Houthi controlled territory

At its narrowest the strait

is 26 km wide

YEMEN

SANAA

HODEIDAH

Bab al-Mandab

Strait

Gulf of Aden

DJIBOUTI