Exports from the Arabian Gulf must pass through Bab el-Mandab before entering the Suez Canal. Nearly 20,000 ships pass through the Gulf of Aden each year, heading to and from the Suez Canal. The Bab el-Mandab passage handles around 3.3 million barrels per day of oil that is en route to the Canal and the Sumed Pipeline for onward shipment to Europe and the United States. __
