Shaul Shay
(RIEAS Research Associate and Security Analyst)
Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 28 July 2017.
Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS).
The Bab al-Mandab strait , which is 25 kilometers wide, is a strategically vital maritime waterway, through which merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden sail to the Red Sea, and then to the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the most crowded waterways for oil transportation in the Middle East and other regions with more than 3.3 million oil barrels per day. This strait is vitally sensitive, not only to all countries bordering the Red Sea, but to the world trade as a whole. Read more