Bab el-Mandeb Strait live traffic

Red Sea ↔ Gulf of Aden

Official transit statistics IMF PortWatch

Normal traffic

36 transits on 25 October · 7-day average 28.9 per day

of normal · 2025 average 33.5 per day

↑ 9.5%7 days vs previous 7

↓ 16%30-day average vs normal

39.0per day, same week last year

36Transits · 25 Octlatest published day

28.97-day averagetransits per day

28.330-day average848 transits in 30 days

33.5Normal · 2025average transits per day

IMF PortWatch counts ships that complete a transit, from satellite AIS. Latest published day: 25 October 2026 (3 days behind today); the series is updated weekly. Next release expected around 3 November. Methodology

Daily transits since 2019 · IMF PortWatch

Bars: transits per UTC day. Line: 7-day average. Numbered markers: events from the timeline below.

Vessel types last 30 days · IMF PortWatch

Tankers 283 33%
Container ships 177 21%
Dry bulk 234 28%
General cargo 116 14%
Ro-ro 38 4%

On 25 Oct: Tankers 13 · Container ships 9 · Dry bulk 7 · General cargo 6 · Ro-ro 1

Timeline what moved the numbers

4
10 Sep 2026
Houthi forces capture the port of Mocha and advance towards Bab el-Mandeb

Windward Daily Intelligence
3
12 Jan 2024
US and UK strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen

Reuters
2
15 Dec 2023
Major container lines pause Red Sea transits and reroute via the Cape of Good Hope

Reuters
1
19 Nov 2023
Houthis seize the car carrier Galaxy Leader; Red Sea attacks on shipping begin

Reuters

Latest news via Google News

27 Oct 2026, 16:28 UTC EU Condemns Houthi Attacks, Expresses Concern over Shipping Safety in Red Sea Hindusthan Samachar English
27 Oct 2026, 14:53 UTC EU condemns Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, Red Sea shipping The Hawk
27 Oct 2026, 14:24 UTC Houthi Ballistic Missile Intercepted Near Belgian Minehunter in Bab el-Mandeb Naval News
27 Oct 2026, 02:56 UTC Saudis Plan Assault on Houthis to Break Red Sea Chokehold EnergyNow.com
27 Oct 2026, 00:00 UTC Saudi Red Sea ports brace for seasonal import surge Arabian Gulf Business Insight | AGBI
26 Oct 2026, 23:21 UTC Houthi Control of Taiz Heights Poses Persistent Threat To Bab Al-Mandab Shipping, Study Says يمن مونيتور
26 Oct 2026, 19:27 UTC Gottheimer visits U.S. troops in Djibouti, highlights Red Sea security and threats from Houthis, China WRNJ Radio
26 Oct 2026, 17:26 UTC Saudi Arabia And Houthis End De-Escalation, Exchange Attacks In Gulf And Red Sea: 13 outlets compared NewsCord

Collected automatically from news media by keyword filters and not verified by StraitTraffic. Dated events that explain the numbers are in the timeline.

Live layer terrestrial AIS

Vessels right now and our own transit count

Positions received in the last 30 minutes from shore-based AIS receivers, and transits counted by StraitTraffic from those signals. Independent of the official statistics above.

No terrestrial AIS coverage in this zone.

Shore receivers do not reach this area, so there is no live map here. The official statistics above are based on satellite AIS and are unaffected.

How coverage works

Background

About Bab el-Mandeb Strait traffic

Bab el-Mandeb links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and is the southern gateway to the Suez Canal route between Asia and Europe. Every ship on the Suez route passes here, so transit counts react immediately to diversions around the Cape of Good Hope.

How transits are counted

IMF PortWatch counts vessels passing through the narrows around Perim Island from satellite AIS and splits them into tankers, container ships, dry bulk, general cargo and ro-ro. Shore-based receivers do not cover the strait, so there is no live map; the timeline marks the attacks and diversions behind the changes in the numbers.