Italy will deploy warships to guarantee the safe passage of its commercial vessels through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. This was stated by Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, quoted by “Al Jazeera“, reports News.bg.
“We have the necessary capacity to protect shipping“, he pointed out.
According to him, if the sea route becomes unusable, the economic consequences will be severe. Crozet noted that Rome should not allow bureaucratic delays in decision-making to further complicate an already complex situation.
Bab el-Mandeb is a key route between Europe and Asia
Bab el-Mandeb connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and is one of the busiest shipping corridors between Europe and Asia.
The strait is a key route for the transport of oil and gas to and from the Suez Canal. Between 12 and 15 percent of world trade passes through this narrow waterway that separates Yemen from Djibouti and Eritrea.
The strait's importance has grown sharply since Iran effectively took control of the Strait of Hormuz, blocking a key strategic oil shipping route and forcing much of the Gulf's crude exports to divert to alternative routes.
Saudi Arabia has increasingly relied on pipelines and shipping across the Red Sea to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. This has made the Bab el-Mandeb one of the main arteries for Gulf oil to reach world markets.
Control of the strait remains contentious
Control of the Bab el-Mandeb has been a matter of dispute for years. Since the start of the war in Yemen in 2015, the country's government, Houthi rebels, and sometimes other regional forces, have controlled different parts of its coast at different times.