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What types of goods are transported through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait?
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Red Sea
Map showing the Red Sea and the countries surrounding it. The Red Sea is one of the most heavily traveled waterways in the world. It is about 1,200 miles (1,930 km) long, and its maximum width is about 190 miles (305 km).
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait serves as a vital maritime chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Due to its strategic location, it facilitates significant global trade, particularly following the opening of the Suez Canal.12
The types of goods and traffic transported through the strait include:
- Oil and Petroleum: The strait is the third busiest chokepoint for global oil trade, with more than one-tenth of the world's seaborne oil passing through it.1
- Containerized Cargo: Approximately one-fourth of global container trade transits the strait.1
- Dry Cargoes: This includes commodities such as grain, ores, metals, coal, cement, and fertilizers.3
- Local Traffic: While the western channel is used for international shipping, the shallower eastern channel is utilized for local trade between the Horn of Africa and Arabia.1