The series counts crude and product tankers passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait each day, positioned from satellite AIS signals published by IMF PortWatch. The chart plots the trailing 7-day mean, because raw daily counts swing too much to read. This page reads the tanker count, not the all-vessel total. Before the attacks began, the strait carried about 12% of global seaborne oil trade.
Traffic that stops here does not disappear. It diverts around Africa, which adds 10 to 14 days and extra fuel per voyage, while war-risk premiums and freight rates reprice within days of each attack. The baseline comparison shows whether the disruption persists.
A sustained fall against the baseline is a cost shock. Freight, insurance and delivery times feed goods prices and margins for every week the route stays shut. A rise back toward baseline unwinds that cost. The difference from Hormuz matters: traffic here can divert around Africa, so a closure raises cost and delay instead of removing barrels. The crude that does not reroute shows up in the Brent price. Read this page next to the Hormuz count. The Bab el-Mandeb has been closed since July 2026, and no earlier shock closed both straits at once.