Yemen · Djibouti · Eritrea
The Bab-el-Mandeb Strait separates Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula from Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. It is about 26 km wide at its narrowest point.
Bab-el-Mandeb is the southern gateway to the Suez Canal: virtually all traffic between Asia and Europe via Suez must also transit this strait, making the two chokepoints inseparable. Security incidents in the surrounding waters have repeatedly forced carriers to divert around the Cape of Good Hope, adding roughly ten days and significant fuel cost to Asia–Europe rotations — a vivid demonstration of how a single narrow passage can reshape global schedules overnight.
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247 of our covered port-to-port routes transit the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. The most significant ones, ranked by carrier coverage at both ends:
| Route | Distance |
|---|---|
| Shanghai Hamburg | 10,842 nm |
| Shanghai Antwerpen | 10,569 nm |
| Hamburg Qingdao | 11,106 nm |
| Antwerpen Qingdao | 10,834 nm |
| Hamburg Ningbo | 10,728 nm |
| Antwerpen Ningbo | 10,456 nm |
| Hamburg Xiamen | 10,292 nm |
| Shanghai Bremerhaven | 10,796 nm |
| Hamburg Xingang | 11,397 nm |
| Antwerpen Xiamen | 10,020 nm |
| Hamburg Yantian | 10,088 nm |
| Antwerpen Xingang | 11,124 nm |
| Hamburg Brisbane | 12,301 nm |
| Antwerpen Yantian | 9,816 nm |
| Antwerpen Brisbane | 12,028 nm |
The Bab-el-Mandeb Strait connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Bordering countries: Yemen, Djibouti, Eritrea.
Among the 1225 port-to-port routes covered by Seadex, 247 transit the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.
Bab-el-Mandeb is the southern gateway to the Suez Canal: virtually all traffic between Asia and Europe via Suez must also transit this strait, making the two chokepoints inseparable. Security incidents in the surrounding waters have repeatedly forced carriers to divert around the Cape of Good Hope, adding roughly ten days and significant fuel cost to Asia–Europe rotations — a vivid demonstration of how a single narrow passage can reshape global schedules overnight.