(../../../../favicon_aje.ico) Italy to deploy warships to protect shipping through Bab al-Mandeb | Global Energy Crisis News | Al Jazeera    (https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/9/18/italy-to-deploy-warships-to-protect-shipping-through-bab-al-mandeb)                                                (https://www.aljazeera.com/xml/rss/all.xml)  (https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/economy/2026/9/18/italy-to-deploy-warships-to-protect-shipping-through-bab-al-mandeb)  (https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/AFP__20260914__C89G4PN__v1__HighRes__YemenIranUsIsraelWar-1789456385.jpg?resize=1920%2C1440)  (../../../../wp-content/uploads/2026/09/AFP__20260914__C89G4PN__v1__HighRes__YemenIranUsIsraelWar-1789456385.jpg@resize=770,513&quality=80)     (https://cdn.cookielaw.org) (https://cdn.cookielaw.org) (https://cdn.cookielaw.org) (https://cdn.cookielaw.org/scripttemplates/otSDKStub.js) (https://www.google-analytics.com) (https://www.google-analytics.com) (https://www.google-analytics.com) (https://static.chartbeat.com/) (https://static.chartbeat.com/) (https://static.chartbeat.com/) (../../../../static/css/vendor~main~d08ff9cb.24bf1742.r2.chunk.css) (../../../../static/css/component~main~748942c6.6c6e15fe.r2.chunk.css) (../../../../static/css/component~main~b07b7304.e3bc53a0.r2.chunk.css) (../../../../static/css/component~main~6e6dca10.74fd263a.r2.chunk.css) (../../../../static/css/component~main~5db14389.c7afea12.r2.chunk.css) (https://www.aljazeera.com/static/media/Roboto-Bold.52bb58c8.woff2) (https://www.aljazeera.com/static/media/Roboto-Regular.c5bf51b6.woff2)  (../../../../static/css/vendor~aje/containers/home-page~components/video-article/videoPageDispatcher~containers/amp-live-blo~5f903362.2e08e417.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/component~aje/containers/home-page~components/video-article/videoPageDispatcher~containers/amp-live-~41c72a2c.3f309873.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/component~aje/containers/home-page~components/video-article/videoPageDispatcher~containers/amp-live-~06be7c11.0625e98d.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/common~493df0b3.ec3ab9b5.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/pages/article-page~493df0b3.accd71c7.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/common~493df0b3.ec3ab9b5.r2.chunk.css)   Skip links (italy-to-deploy-warships-to-protect-shipping-through-bab-al-mandeb@traffic_source=rss.html#main-content-area) Skip to Content  (https://www.aljazeera.com/)          (https://www.aljazeera.com/video/live) play    Live    Sign up  Show navigation menu     Navigation menu (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/) News    Show more news sections  (https://www.aljazeera.com/africa/) Africa   (https://www.aljazeera.com/asia/) Asia   (https://www.aljazeera.com/us-canada/) US & Canada   (https://www.aljazeera.com/latin-america/) Latin America   (https://www.aljazeera.com/europe/) Europe   (https://www.aljazeera.com/asia-pacific/) Asia Pacific      (https://www.aljazeera.com/middle-east/) Middle East   (https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/explainer/) Explained   (https://www.aljazeera.com/sports) Sport   (https://www.aljazeera.com/opinion/) Opinion   (https://www.aljazeera.com/videos/) Video   More   Show more sections  (https://www.aljazeera.com/features/) Features   (https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/) Economy   (https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/human-rights/) Human Rights   (https://www.aljazeera.com/climate-crisis) Climate Crisis   (https://www.aljazeera.com/investigations/) Investigations   (https://www.aljazeera.com/interactives/) Interactives   (https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/) In Pictures   (https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/science-and-technology/) Science & Technology   (https://www.aljazeera.com/audio/podcasts) Podcasts   (https://www.aljazeera.com/travel) Travel   (https://www.aljazeera.com/sponsored/) Sponsored Content        (https://www.aljazeera.com/video/live) play    Live    Click here to search search     Sign up        Navigation menu caret-left    (https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/israel-iran-conflict/) US-Israel war on Iran    (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/9/strait-of-hormuz-what-has-happened-since-the-us-iran-mou-on-june-17) Strait of Hormuz   (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/9/has-iran-captured-an-unmanned-us-submarine-what-we-know) Did Iran capture a US submarine?   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Listen   Listen (2 mins)       Save       Share Italy to deploy warships to protect shipping through Bab al-Mandeb on social media share-nodes    Share (https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Faje.news%2Fgw0bfn) facebook      (https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Italy%20to%20deploy%20warships%20to%20protect%20shipping%20through%20Bab%20al-Mandeb&source=sharethiscom&related=sharethis&via=AJEnglish&url=https%3A%2F%2Faje.news%2Fgw0bfn) x    (whatsapp://send?text=https%3A%2F%2Faje.news%2Fgw0bfn) whatsapp-stroke    (https://aje.news/gw0bfn)  copylink          google       Add Al Jazeera on Google  info      (A commercial vessel is anchored off Yemen's coast at Bab al-Mandeb, in the straits connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean on September 12, 2026. Yemen's Houthis took over on September 11, 2026, a Red Sea island of Mayyun that is located in the middle of the Bab al-Mandeb shipping lane, completing their push to control the area, a local government official and eyewitnesses told AFP. Hundreds of people have died since the Iran-backed Houthis launched an offensive around Bab al-Mandab, a vital artery for Saudi oil exports. (Photo by AFP) /)   A commercial vessel is anchored off Yemen's coast at Bab al-Mandeb, in the straits connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean on September 12, 2026 [AFP]   (https://www.aljazeera.com/author/al_jazeera_staff_150119130629458)     By  (https://www.aljazeera.com/author/al_jazeera_staff_150119130629458) Al Jazeera Staff and DPA   Published On 18 Sep 2026 18 Sep 2026    Italy will deploy warships to ensure safe passage for its commercial vessels through the Bab al-Mandeb strait, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said, adding that Rome would not wait for a joint decision from the European Union. “We have the capabilities to protect the passage,” Crosetto said, warning that if the waterway became impassable, the economic consequences would be severe. Recommended Stories list of 3 items list 1 of 3 (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/16/djibouti-calls-for-assistance-as-thousands-of-yemenis-flee-to-country) Djibouti calls for assistance as thousands of Yemenis flee to country  list 2 of 3 (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/17/yemeni-forces-target-houthis-and-a-saudi-base-as-us-rules-out-direct-role) Yemeni forces target Houthis as US rules out direct role  list 3 of 3 (https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2026/9/17/they-called-us-has-trump-abandoned-bab-al-mandeb-to-the-houthis) ‘They called us’: Has Trump abandoned Bab al-Mandeb to the Houthis?   end of list  The Italian defence minister said that Rome “must not allow bureaucratic delays in decision-making to exacerbate an already complex situation”. Bab al-Mandeb links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, forming one of the world’s busiest shipping corridors between Europe and Asia and a critical route for oil, gas and container traffic heading to and from the Suez Canal. Roughly 12 to 15 percent of global trade has historically passed through the narrow waterway, which separates Yemen from Djibouti and Eritrea on the African side and is only about 30km (19 miles) wide at its narrowest point. The strait’s importance has grown sharply since Iran effectively seized control of the Strait of Hormuz earlier this year amid its war with the United States and Israel, choking off the world’s most important oil chokepoint and pushing much of the Gulf’s crude exports towards alternative routes. Saudi Arabia, in particular, has increasingly relied on pipelines and Red Sea shipping to bypass Hormuz altogether, making the Bab al-Mandeb strait one of the last major arteries still open to Gulf oil reaching global markets. Control of the strait has been contested for years, as Yemen’s government, Houthi rebels and, at times, forces in the region have held stretches of its coastline at different points since the war in Yemen began in 2015. Advertisement    The significance of the strait has been hit dramatically in the past few weeks, when the Iran-backed Houthi movement launched a rapid offensive that brought the entirety of Yemen’s western Red Sea coast under its control, including several strategically located islands. The advance has given the Houthis (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/17/five-killed-as-saudi-arabia-and-yemens-houthis-trade-attacks) effectively unrestricted access to the waterway, a development seen as a major setback for international shipping, given the group’s history of attacking vessels it associates with the US or its allies in the region. The US and the European Union have already carried out military operations aimed at better protecting merchant ships from Houthi attacks in the area, though those efforts have struggled to fully secure the route as fighting in Yemen has escalated.                 aj-logo             aj-logo             aj-logo       Advertisement          About About   Show more  (https://www.aljazeera.com/about-us) About Us   (https://www.aljazeera.com/code-of-ethics/) Code of Ethics   (https://www.aljazeera.com/terms-and-conditions/) Terms and Conditions   (https://www.aljazeera.com/eu-eea-regulatory/) EU/EEA Regulatory Notice   (https://privacy.aljazeera.net/) Privacy Policy   (https://privacy.aljazeera.net/cookie/) Cookie Policy   (https://www.aljazeera.com/) Cookie Preferences    (https://trust.aljazeera.net/accessibility/) Accessibility Statement   (https://www.aljazeera.com/sitemap) Sitemap   (https://careers.aljazeera.net/) Work for us      Connect Connect   Show more  (https://network.aljazeera.net/en/contact?tid=6) Contact Us   (https://www.aljazeera.com/user-accounts-help) User Accounts Help   (https://commercial.aljazeera.net/) Advertise with us   (https://www.aljazeera.com/stay-connected) Stay Connected   (https://www.aljazeera.com/newsletters) Newsletters   (https://sat.aljazeera.net/en) Channel Finder   (https://www.aljazeera.com/schedule/) TV Schedule   (https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/) Podcasts   (https://webapps.aljazeera.net/aje/tips/) Submit a Tip   (https://www.aljazeera.com/sponsored) Paid Partner Content      Our Channels Our Channels   Show more  (http://aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Arabic   (https://www.aljazeera.com/) Al Jazeera English   (https://www.ajiunit.com/) Al Jazeera Investigative Unit   (https://www.aljazeeramubasher.net/) Al Jazeera Mubasher   (http://doc.aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Documentary   (http://balkans.aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Balkans   (http://ajplus.net/) AJ+      Our Network Our Network   Show more  (http://studies.aljazeera.net/en/) Al Jazeera Centre for Studies   (http://training.aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Media Institute   (http://learning.aljazeera.net/) Learn Arabic   (http://liberties.aljazeera.com/en) Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights   (http://forum.aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Forum   (https://hotels.aljazeera.net/en) Al Jazeera Hotel Partners        Follow Al Jazeera English: (https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera) facebook       (https://twitter.com/ajenglish) twitter     (https://www.youtube.com/aljazeeraenglish) youtube     (https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/?hl=en) instagram-colored-outline                          (https://www.aljazeera.com/xml/rss/all.xml) rss     (https://bsky.app/profile/aljazeera.com) bluesky     (https://www.tiktok.com/@aljazeeraenglish) tiktok-colored-outline                  (Al Jazeera Media Network logo)   © 2026 Al Jazeera Media Network