Why Houthi Push Along Yemen's Red Sea Coast Threatens a Global Chokepoint
The Houthis are advancing along Yemen's Red Sea coast toward the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a chokepoint vital to global shipping and oil flows.
The Iran-backed Houthis are pressing to take full control of Yemen's Red Sea coastline, a push that would tighten their grip on the Bab el-Mandeb strait — one of the world's busiest and most contested maritime passages.
Where the strait sits
Known as the "Gate of Tears" for its difficult navigation, the Bab el-Mandeb lies at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti and Eritrea on the African side. It sits across the peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz, which has drawn heavy attention during the U.S.-Iran war.
At its narrowest, the waterway spans 18 miles (29 km), leaving just two channels for inbound and outbound traffic, split by Yemen's Perim island, known in Arabic as Mayyun. North of the strait lie the Hanish Islands, between the ports of Hodeidah and Mocha, giving whoever holds them a clear view of approaching ships.
The Houthis already control Hodeidah, which they have used as a launchpad for attacks on Red Sea shipping. They have pushed south to seize Mocha, the historic port widely seen as the birthplace of the global coffee trade, and are now moving toward Dhubab, a city sitting directly on the strait. Holding Dhubab and Perim island is the key to controlling the passage.
What passes through
The strait is a critical route for seaborne commodities and goods, especially shipments from Asia to Europe via the Suez Canal. It also matters for traffic linked to the Suez-Mediterranean pipeline on Egypt's Red Sea coast and for commodities headed to Asia, including Russian oil. As the southern gateway to the Suez Canal, it must be crossed for ships to reach the canal from the south. When shipping there is disrupted, vessels divert around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa, adding weeks and heavy costs.
Why partial disruption already hurt
Even limited interference has proved damaging. From late 2023, the Houthis ran a sustained campaign against shipping in the southern Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb, saying it was in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza during the Hamas-Israel war. Major shipping and oil firms — among them Hapag-Lloyd, MSC, Maersk, BP and tanker group Frontline — pulled vessels away from the Suez Canal and sent them around Africa instead. Freight costs jumped and voyages grew much longer.
A Houthi stranglehold on the waterway could hand Iran a significant advantage in its war with the United States, which has already seen a sharp fall in energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, driving oil prices higher. Petroleum volumes passing through Bab el-Mandeb accounted for roughly 7% of global oil output in June, according to Kpler data.