Geopolitics › Global issues & flashpoints › Maritime chokepoints
Suez Canal, Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb
Suez opened 1869; Houthi attacks 2023–25, resumed Jul 2026· Resource or chokepoint
FactTreaties, membership, measured data, events.
The Suez Canal and Red Sea route, the shortest sea link between Asia and Europe, with the Bab el-Mandeb strait at its southern end.
See it on the Geopolitics map →The picture
The 193 km canal opened in 1869; Egypt nationalized it in 1956, triggering the Suez Crisis. Before 2023 it carried roughly 12–15% of world trade. At the south end, the Bab el-Mandeb strait, about 30 km wide between Yemen and Djibouti, is the choke point. Houthi missile and drone attacks from November 2023 sent most container ships around Africa, adding 10–14 days. Attacks paused, then resumed in July 2026 during the Iran war.
Why it matters
When it closes, freight rates and delivery times jump worldwide and Egypt loses a top source of dollars; Djibouti's foreign bases, including China's first, show the area's strategic weight.
Key facts and numbers
Suez Canal Authority transit and revenue reports, ship-tracking data, freight-rate indexes such as Drewry's, and incident logs from the US-led and EU naval missions.
What to watch
Whether shipping lines trust the route again soon, and how Egypt's economy copes if diversions around Africa become semi-permanent.
Connections (3)
▸Houthis (Ansar Allah, Yemen) attacked shipping in Suez Canal, Red Sea and Bab el-MandebFact
The relationship
Citing Gaza, the Houthis attacked over 100 merchant ships from November 2023, sinking four by mid-2025. Most container lines rerouted around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, adding 10–14 days; Suez Canal revenue fell by more than half in 2024. Attacks paused with the Gaza truce and resumed in July 2026.
Since when and why
Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb, starting with the hijacking of the Galaxy Leader on November 19, 2023; US, British and Israeli strikes followed.
How we know
Maritime-security incident logs, shipping-line announcements, Suez Canal Authority revenue figures and freight-rate data.
What to watch
Whether shipping lines will ever fully return to Suez, and whether naval escorts or strikes can stop cheap missiles and drones.
▸Egypt depends on revenue from Suez Canal, Red Sea and Bab el-MandebFact
The relationship
Suez Canal tolls are one of Egypt's top sources of dollars, a record $10.2 billion in 2023. Houthi attacks from late 2023 diverted ships around Africa and cut revenue to about $4 billion a year. In 2026, with Hormuz blocked and Bab el-Mandeb threatened, Saudi oil shipped from Red Sea ports went north through Suez, lifting revenue again.
Since when and why
Suez Canal, Egypt; Houthi attacks from November 2023, resumed July 2026; the Suez Canal Authority expects $5.8–6 billion in 2026.
How we know
Suez Canal Authority monthly revenue and transit reports, President Sisi's statements on losses, and ship-tracking data from Lloyd's List and others.
What to watch
Whether shipping lines return to Suez for good or treat the Red Sea as permanently risky is uncertain, and depends on Yemen and the Iran war.
▸Ethiopia seeks its own port on Suez Canal, Red Sea and Bab el-MandebFact
The relationship
Ethiopia lost its coast when Eritrea became independent in 1993 and now sends about 90% of its trade through Djibouti. PM Abiy calls sea access existential: a January 2024 deal with breakaway Somaliland for a naval base angered Somalia, and his talk of Eritrea's Red Sea port of Assab raises fears of war.
Since when and why
Addis Ababa, Djibouti, Somaliland's port of Berbera and Eritrea's Assab; the Somaliland memorandum of January 1, 2024 was defused by Turkish mediation in December 2024.
How we know
Abiy's speeches to parliament, the announced terms of the Somaliland memorandum, Somali and Eritrean government responses, and Djibouti port statistics.
What to watch
Disputed: Ethiopia says it seeks access peacefully; Eritrea and Somalia see a threat to their sovereignty. Whether the dispute turns into war is the open question.