with the help of its Houthi allies in Yemen. While disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz primarily affect Asia, blocking access to the Gulf of Aden could affect European energy supplies and imports from Asia.
The Houthis’ “unique geographic position creates a unique ground for acting in the Red Sea and particularly at the level of the Bab al-Mandab strait", said Julian Pawlak, a maritime security specialist at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin.
The Bab al-Mandab strait plays a key role in global trade as well as in delivering oil and gas to Europe.
“In normal times, around 15 percent of global maritime trade by value goes through it,” said Jasper Verschuur, a professor of systems engineering and infrastructure security at Delft University in the Netherlands who has studied the cost of disruptions to strategic maritime routes.
The strait also plays a central role in moving oil and gas from the Gulf states to Europe.