elevated · 54 Strait · Red Sea ↔ Gulf of Aden

Bab-el-Mandeb

Red Sea — southern gate

Why it matters: Chokepoint for Europe–Asia trade; sustained attacks on merchant shipping since 2023.

Local map · live AIS

under way slow stationary

Fused signal timeline · 21 days

🚢 0 now · 0 under way 💨 8.4kt · slight transit favourable

2026-07-05 Cargo vessel in Red Sea reports coming under attack, UK maritime body says
2026-07-05 Yemen's Houthis kill 16 government troops; British agency reports attack on cargo ship in Red Sea

Daily satellite snapshot of Bab-el-Mandeb — Daily satellite context NASA GIBS · VIIRS/NOAA-20 true color · 2026-07-09 Daily true-color snapshot (2026-07-09) — context only; too coarse to resolve individual vessels. Open in NASA Worldview ↗

Assessment

Bab-el-Mandeb is showing a watch-level posture above its baseline; open-source coverage is cooling. Latest reporting (2026-07-05): “Cargo vessel in Red Sea reports coming under attack, UK maritime body says” — cnbc.com. Metocean: 8.4 kt wind, 0.68 m seas — transit favourable.

What changed

›Most recent reporting dated 2026-07-05.
›Conditions: 8.4 kt / Bft 3, seas slight — favourable for transit.
›No other material change in monitored feeds.

Live AIS snapshot

90s window

in box

under way

stationary

slow/loiter

Live positions via AISStream.io at build time. Cross-run gap/dark-ship detection is the next iteration.

Metocean conditions

Wind8.4 kt

Gusts16.3 kt

Beaufort3

Wave ht0.68 m

Swell0.36 m

Visibility22 km

Sea stateslight

Transit favourable

Open-Meteo, box centroid, at build time.

Dated open-source reporting

2026-07-05
Cargo vessel in Red Sea reports coming under attack, UK maritime body says
The incident was reported in one of the world's most crucial trade transit routes amid a fragile ceasefire between Iran and the U.S.

cnbc.com · jina
2026-07-05
Yemen's Houthis kill 16 government troops; British agency reports attack on cargo ship in Red Sea
Both incidents were reported near the port city of Hodeidah, which is under control of the Iranian-backed Houthi rebel group.

cbsnews.com · jina
2026-06-09
Guards on cargo vessel fight off attack from small boat near Yemeni coast
Iran-backed Houthis have warned they will target Israeli-linked ships in Red Sea

thenationalnews.com · jina
2026-04-11
Facebook
facebook.com · jina
2026-03-02
Red Sea Corridor Slips Back Into Crisis as Houthi Threats Resurface
Red Sea shipping corridor deteriorates as Yemen Houthi rebels issue renewed threats against commercial vessels. Security situation reverses.

gcaptain.com · jina
2025-09-23
2025-012-Red Sea, Bab el Mandeb Strait, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Somali Basin-Houthi Attacks on Commercial Vessels
1. References: None

maritime.dot.gov · jina
—
Houthi attacks on commercial vessels
en.wikipedia.org · jina

Updated 10 Jul 2026, 20:15 UTC · narrator: rule-based · bbox [42.4, 12, 44.6, 14.2]