Losing access to Bab el-Mandeb would be 'catastrophic for the entire world,' Qatar warns

# Why This Matters The simultaneous threatened closure of both Bab el-Mandeb and the Strait of Hormuz would create an unprecedented crisis for global commerce. These two chokepoints together account for roughly 30 percent of seaborne trade and nearly 20 percent of the world's oil supply, meaning any sustained blockade would force massive rerouting of shipments through longer, costlier routes around Africa—a detour adding weeks to transit times and billions in additional expenses. The practical consequences would ripple immediately through energy markets (spiking oil and gas prices), shipping costs for consumer goods, and supply chains already fragile from years of disruption, while disproportionately harming developing nations dependent on affordable food and fuel imports. For the global economy operating on just-in-time logistics with minimal inventory buffers, losing even one of these passages would be severely disruptive; losing both simultaneously would likely trigger the kind of sustained price shocks and scarcity conditions not seen since the 1970s energy crisis.