Somali Importers Reroute Shipping as Houthi Advances Disrupt Bab-el-Mandeb, Hormuz Traffic

Somalia's business community is shifting away from traditional shipping routes through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and Strait of Hormuz after Iran-backed Houthi forces captured a strategic Yemeni port city and an island, the Associated Press reported September 13, 2026. Mogadishu Seaport director Mohamed Ali Nur said the port had for the first time received a ship carrying sugar direct from Sri Lanka, calling it a strategy developed in response to the regional tensions. Shipping professional Captain Ali Jemdi said vessels faced trouble transiting the Bab-el-Mandeb because of the war. Somalia depends heavily on maritime trade for food and consumer goods, and longer or rerouted journeys are expected to raise transportation costs and delay deliveries to local markets, compounding the shipping-cost pressure already building since the Iran War began disrupting Gulf of Aden and Red Sea traffic earlier in 2026.