MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/. The number of vessel transits through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait has not changed significantly following the escalation of the situation in Yemen and remains as 40-45 ships per day, according to TASS calculations based on vessel traffic data.

This volume of maritime traffic in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait area has been recorded since July, when the Houthi rebels from the Ansar Allah movement first announced a de facto naval blockade of Saudi Arabia. Prior to that, an average of about 50-60 vessels crossed the strait daily.

The Bab-el-Mandeb Strait is a key maritime trade route that along with the Suez Canal provides ships with a shortcut from the Mediterranean Sea to the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean without having to circumnavigate the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.