More than half of global unexploded-ordnance incidents from 2014-2023 occurred in the Middle East, most in the Red Sea off Yemen and Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.
WHY THIS MATTERS · This matters because four weeks without a successful Houthi strike is bringing container ships back through Suez, cutting shipping times and war-risk costs that had been inflating the price of goods moving between Asia and Europe.
Part of the monitored dynamic Red Sea Maritime Disruption · VUCA INDEX 58/100
"more than half of global incidents related to unexploded ordnance, such as sightings or drifting mines, were recorded in the Middle East between 2014 and 2023, with most occurring in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, largely a result of Yemen's civil war."
Extracted by pipeline v0.5 (claude-opus-4-8) from wsls.com · approved by christopher@vucanews.com JUL 10.
Extracted JUL 10; approved JUL 10 at 0.60.
- Traffic through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait has still not recovered to pre-2023 levels.
- Saudi Arabia announced a 14-nation maritime coalition to protect navigation through Bab al-Mandeb, the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
- Houthi-run HOCC denied planning to charge ships transiting the Red Sea, saying passage remains free and voluntary.
- Houthis announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, threatening ships loading or discharging Saudi oil.
- Houthis are considering imposing transit fees on most commercial ships crossing Bab el-Mandeb, sources told Reuters.