The Strait of Hormuz saw just nine crossings yesterday, according to Kpler data, as movement through the waterway continues to dwindle amid escalating tensions in the region.

Meanwhile, another key route for global shipping has emerged as a bottleneck: the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea, where Yemen's Houthis have threatened to blockade Saudi Arabia, causing a number of ships to U-turn to avoid it.

According to the ship-tracking firm, there were 29 crossings there yesterday, down from 44 on Monday.

It isn't the first time shipping in the Red Sea has been affected by tensions in the region: before the war in Gaza, the strait handled between 65 and 72 commercial vessel crossings a day, according to Kpler. The Houthis' attacks on shipping in support of Palestinians cut that in half. Traffic picked up again after October 2025 but never fully recovered, instead averaging around 45 crossings a day in early 2026, according to Kpler analysts.