Vessel transits through the Bab al-Mandab strait fell to 18 on Sunday

Data from the maritime tracking firm Kpler shows that the number of cargo vessels transiting the Bab al-Mandab strait fell to 18 on Sunday, 2 August 2026 (11 Mordad 1405). The comparable figures for the preceding Friday and Saturday were 28 and 27 vessels respectively, a drop of about 36 percent from two days earlier.

The decline came alongside security reports of an attack on a ship on the route. Data from the same firm nonetheless confirms that two tankers carrying Saudi oil cargoes passed through the strait earlier in the week.

Bab al-Mandab links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and is one of the world's main chokepoints for seaborne trade and energy transit. Reduced traffic on the route, at the same time as disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, raises the cost and duration of shipping on the corridors around Iran and feeds through to freight rates and marine insurance.