FXPM Labs

Latest pass 2026-09-28 07:46 UTC · page updated 2026-10-01 23:02 UTC

Bab al-Mandeb tanker watch

Bab al-Mandeb is the narrow strait between Yemen and Djibouti that joins the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Tankers moving between the Gulf, Europe and the Mediterranean use it together with the Suez Canal and the SUMED pipeline.

Attacks on merchant ships from late 2023 pushed many operators to route around the Cape of Good Hope instead, and EIA data show oil flows through the strait fell sharply in 2024. Vessel counts in the lanes off Perim are a direct, if partial, read on how much traffic has returned.

Tiles watched8
Vessels seen37Latest scene per tile
Likely tankers13
Possible tankers4
Scene dates28 Sept 2026oldest 28 Sept 2026

Compare the lane tiles with the Djibouti anchorage: ships waiting at anchor and ships in transit tell different stories about risk appetite and port demand.

Latest scenes

Sentinel-2 crop of Djibouti anchorage at 11.71°N 43.17°E, captured 28 Sept 2026

Djibouti anchorage

11.71°N 43.17°E · 2026-09-28 07:46 UTC · 0% cloud

Vessels seen
16
Likely tankers
6
Possible
1
Baseline: 1 of 7 clear scenes
Sentinel-2 crop of Djibouti anchorage at 11.61°N 43.17°E, captured 28 Sept 2026

Djibouti anchorage

11.61°N 43.17°E · 2026-09-28 07:46 UTC · 0% cloud

Vessels seen
10
Likely tankers
3
Possible
1
Baseline: 1 of 7 clear scenes
Sentinel-2 crop of Djibouti anchorage at 11.61°N 43.06°E, captured 28 Sept 2026

Djibouti anchorage

11.61°N 43.06°E · 2026-09-28 07:46 UTC · 0% cloud

Vessels seen
5
Likely tankers
1
Possible
2
Baseline: 1 of 7 clear scenes
Sentinel-2 crop of Djibouti anchorage at 11.71°N 43.06°E, captured 28 Sept 2026

Djibouti anchorage

11.71°N 43.06°E · 2026-09-28 07:46 UTC · 0% cloud

Vessels seen
5
Likely tankers
3
Possible
0
Baseline: 1 of 7 clear scenes
Sentinel-2 crop of Perim traffic lanes at 12.71°N 43.40°E, captured 28 Sept 2026

Perim traffic lanes

12.71°N 43.40°E · 2026-09-28 07:46 UTC · 0% cloud

Vessels seen
1
Likely tankers
0
Possible
0
Baseline: 1 of 7 clear scenes
Sentinel-2 crop of Perim traffic lanes at 12.59°N 43.40°E, captured 28 Sept 2026

Perim traffic lanes

12.59°N 43.40°E · 2026-09-28 07:46 UTC · 0% cloud

Vessels seen
0
Likely tankers
0
Possible
0
Baseline: 1 of 7 clear scenes
Sentinel-2 crop of Perim traffic lanes at 12.59°N 43.51°E, captured 28 Sept 2026

Perim traffic lanes

12.59°N 43.51°E · 2026-09-28 07:46 UTC · 0% cloud

Vessels seen
0
Likely tankers
0
Possible
0
Baseline: 1 of 7 clear scenes
Sentinel-2 crop of Perim traffic lanes at 12.71°N 43.51°E, captured 28 Sept 2026

Perim traffic lanes

12.71°N 43.51°E · 2026-09-28 07:46 UTC · 0% cloud

Vessels seen
0
Likely tankers
0
Possible
0
Baseline: 1 of 7 clear scenes

How to read these numbers

  • Counts are automatic proposals from 10-metre Sentinel-2 imagery. The detector is not a validated classifier: a “likely tanker” is a hull whose shape and deck colour fit a tanker, not an identified ship.
  • Cloud-covered water is not searched. A low count under cloud is missing data, not an empty anchorage.
  • Each tile is a sample about 12 kilometres across. Scenes arrive every few days per tile, so “latest” can mean several days old. The capture time is shown on every card.
  • Vessels seen by satellite carry no names. Matching them with AIS needs a receiver in range at the same time.

Method and source details are on the sources page of the map. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data.