Commercial shipping activity through the Bab el-Mandab Strait surged to its highest level in a week on Tuesday, with 37 commodity vessels recorded passing through the critical chokepoint.
Preliminary data from analytics firm Kpler shows 20 ships entered the strait while 17 exited, marking a significant increase from the 28 vessels observed on Monday.
This uptick follows a sharp decline earlier in the week, when traffic fell to a multi-month low of just 11 vessels on Sunday.
The shift in transit patterns highlights a continued preference for the Red Sea route over the Strait of Hormuz, which saw only a handful of transits during the same period.
For traders and logistics managers, the rising volume through Bab el-Mandab suggests that supply chain disruptions linked to regional tensions may be easing, at least temporarily.
The data indicates that shippers are increasingly willing to navigate the Red Sea corridor, potentially reducing the premium on alternative routes and lowering freight costs for goods moving between Asia and Europe.