The negative impact of the crisis on maritime transport in the Middle East region, which have worsened as a result of the US-Iran conflict that has as its epicenter the control of the Strait of Hormuz, a major maritime artery in the world for transit of energy products, could further intensify with the conquest by the Yemeni Houthis of the island of Perim, located in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Ship traffic through Bab el-Mandeb, which connects the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, is under threat from the Houthis from the end of 2023 as a maritime extension of the war of Gaza that began with the seizure of the pure car and truck carrier Galaxy Leader of Japan's NYK ( of 20 November 2023). The subsequent repetition and intensification of the attacks had led most of the maritime operators to avoid the route through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal hijacking their ships on the route that circumnavigates Africa surrounding the Cape of Good Hope. With the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas at the beginning of 2025, a phase of easing of tension, with a suspension of the ships interspersed in March with an intense air campaign against Houthi targets in Yemen and then in May by an agreement between the US and the Houthis brokered by Oman. In the following months and in 2026, the Houthis conducted fewer attacks, concentrating them on ships deemed linked to Israeli interests and then on those of the Saudi company Bahri.

Today's announcement of the capture of the strategic island of Perim by the Houthis, which was communicated by the spokesman of the Yahya Sare'e militia, can certainly be considered an aggravation of the potential threat to vessel traffic in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. A worsening of the scenario suffered received by the German shipowners' association Verband Deutscher Reeder (VDR), who in these hours has launched an alarm for the increasing risk for ships that continue to cross the Stretto, while highlighting that the hypothesis of returning to the route through the Red Sea, which forms the link between Asia and Europe, moves away from further.

VDR warned that "after ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has practically stopped, Now a further escalation is looming at another point of an obligatory step of vital importance for Europe. Possible interruptions in Bab el-Mandeb - underlined the association - can delay shipments, lead to shortages of goods and semi-finished products and raise prices". VDR recalled that on the route that passes through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal is not only transported by oil and other sources but also electronic products, machinery and components, food, clothing, as well as medicines and semi-finished pharmaceutical products. "The safety of this route - explained the general director of the VDR, Martin Kröger - is of paramount importance for the supply of Germany and Europe'. 'The freedom of navigation - he added - is not Negotiable: Threat to Bab el-Mandeb attacks a vital artery of world trade".