Bab-el-Mandeb

Also called: Gate of Tears · Topic: World Physical Features and Natural Regions · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

Bab-el-Mandeb (Arabic for "Gate of Grief", also called the "Gate of Tears") is a strait about 30 km wide. A strait is a narrow strip of sea with land on both sides that joins two larger seas. It has Yemen (Arabian Peninsula) on one side and Djibouti and Eritrea (Horn of Africa) on the other, and it joins the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. It is the southern gate of the Red Sea–Suez Canal route between Asia and Europe. When it is blocked, ships must take a much longer route around Africa, and India's trade with Europe costs more.

Explanation

Position and shape

• Two sides:
• North-east side: Yemen, at the south-western corner of the Arabian Peninsula.

• South-west side: Djibouti and Eritrea, in the Horn of Africa.

• What it joins:

• To the north: the Red Sea, which leads to the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean.

• To the south: the Gulf of Aden, which opens into the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.

• Perim Island:

• Perim Island belongs to Yemen and sits at the narrowest point of the strait.

• Every ship using the Red Sea and the Suez Canal must pass it [7].

• Why it is a chokepoint:

• A chokepoint is a narrow sea passage that a large share of world shipping must use.
• The Red Sea is long and narrow. It has only two exits: Suez in the north and Bab-el-Mandeb in the south.
• So any ship sailing between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean through the Red Sea has to pass through this one gap.

How much trade passes through it

• Oil: it is the third-busiest oil chokepoint, after Hormuz and Malacca. It carries about one-tenth of the oil traded by sea [6].
• Containers: about one-fourth of global container trade passes through it [7].
• IMO list: in April 2026 the IMO (International Maritime Organization, the UN body for shipping) named the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait as one of six waterways that conflict can easily disrupt [5]. Another was the Suez Canal, which lies on the same route.

What happens when it is blocked: the Houthi crisis

• Cause:
• Houthi forces in Yemen began attacking merchant ships after the Israel-Hamas war started in 2023.

• Yemen is right on the strait, so the attackers could reach ships in this narrow passage easily.

• Process:

• Traffic through the strait fell below half of its normal level [6].

• Many ships stopped using the Red Sea. They sailed around the Cape of Good Hope (the southern tip of Africa) instead, which is a much longer route.

• Result:

• Voyages took longer.
• Freight costs (the price of moving goods by ship) and insurance costs went up.
• India's trade with Europe became more expensive.
• The Mozambique Channel on the Cape route became more important.

India's naval response

• Anti-piracy patrol: the Indian Navy has patrolled the Gulf of Aden against pirates since 2008 [4].
• Operation Sankalp extended:
• Operation Sankalp is the Indian Navy's maritime security operation. It started on 19 June 2019 in the Gulf region to protect Indian-flagged ships near Hormuz [3].

• From mid-December 2023, the Navy widened it to cover the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea [1].

• First 100 days (14 December 2023 to 23 March 2024) [1]:

• more than 110 lives saved, including 45 Indian seafarers
• 15 lakh tonnes of fertiliser, crude oil and finished products escorted
• nearly 1,000 boarding operations (Navy teams going on board ships to check them)
• more than 3,000 kg of narcotics seized

• more than 450 merchant ships assured of the Navy's presence

• Over one year (2024) [2]:

• more than 30 ships deployed
• more than 25 incidents handled
• more than 400 lives saved, whatever the crew's nationality

Where it occurs

• The strait: at the southern end of the Red Sea, between Yemen (Asia) and Djibouti and Eritrea (Africa). Here Asia and Africa come closest to each other.
• Perim Island (Yemen): at the narrowest point of the strait [7].
• Red Sea: north of the strait. It leads to the Suez Canal and on to the Mediterranean Sea.
• Gulf of Aden: south-east of the strait, between Yemen and the Horn of Africa. It opens into the Arabian Sea. The Indian Navy's anti-piracy patrol has worked here since 2008 [4].
• Cape of Good Hope: the southern tip of Africa. This is the long detour ships took when the strait became unsafe.
• Mozambique Channel: an arm of the Indian Ocean between Mozambique and Madagascar. It lies on the Cape route that ships use when they avoid Suez and Bab-el-Mandeb.
• India's link: Operation Sankalp covers the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea [1], so the Indian Navy guards both ends of this route.

Don't confuse with

• Strait of Hormuz: lies between Iran and Oman (Musandam) and joins the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman. Hormuz is one of the two busiest oil chokepoints. Bab-el-Mandeb lies between Yemen and Djibouti–Eritrea, joins the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, and ranks third [6].
• Suez Canal: a man-made canal at the northern end of the Red Sea. Bab-el-Mandeb is a natural strait at the southern end. A ship using one usually uses the other too.
• Cape of Good Hope vs Cape Horn: ships avoiding Bab-el-Mandeb sailed around the Cape of Good Hope (southern tip of Africa). Cape Horn is the southern tip of South America, next to the Drake Passage.
• Mozambique Channel: a much wider passage (about 400 km at its narrowest) between Mozambique and Madagascar. It is a channel on the alternative Cape route, not a strait on the Red Sea route.

Prelims Hooks

• Countries on its sides: Yemen on one side; Djibouti and Eritrea on the other. Trap: Somalia and Oman are not on the strait.
• Joins: the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. It is about 30 km wide.
• Island at the narrowest point: Perim Island, which belongs to Yemen [7].
• Oil chokepoint ranking: Hormuz and Malacca are the busiest. Bab-el-Mandeb is third, with about one-tenth of the oil traded by sea [6]. It also carries about one-fourth of global container trade [7].
• Houthi attacks (from late 2023): traffic fell below half of its normal level [6], and ships went around the Cape of Good Hope.
• Indian Navy: Operation Sankalp was widened to the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea from mid-December 2023 [1]. The Gulf of Aden anti-piracy patrol has run since 2008 [4].

Mains Points

• Trade costs and rerouting (GS-III):
• The Houthi attacks cut Red Sea traffic to below half its normal level [6].
• Ships took the longer Cape of Good Hope route, so voyage time, freight costs and insurance costs all rose.

• Indian exporters to Europe were hit, and the Cape route and Mozambique Channel became more important.

• India as a net security provider (GS-III):

• A net security provider is a country that keeps the sea safe for others, not only for itself.
• The Indian Navy has patrolled the Gulf of Aden since 2008 [4] and extended Operation Sankalp to the Red Sea in December 2023 [1].

• In 2024 it saved more than 400 lives, whatever the crew's nationality [2]. This shows India can protect shipping lanes far from its own coast.

• Geography explains why the strait matters (GS-I):

• The Red Sea is a long, narrow sea with only two exits, so all its shipping must pass this one gap.
• The strait is narrow, and Yemen lies right beside it. That is why fighters on land could disrupt a quarter of global container trade [7].

Related concepts

• Strait of Hormuz
• Strait of Malacca
• Mozambique Channel
• Strait of Gibraltar
• Bosphorus
• Turkish Straits
• Kerch Strait
• Taiwan Strait
• Bering Strait
• Drake Passage

Read more

• Straits and chokepoints