Facing mounting security risks around two critical waterways, Somalia’s business community is looking for new shipping routes after Iran-backed Houthis captured a key port city and an island, prompting thousands of Yemenis to flee across the water to neighboring Djibouti.
Somali companies have traditionally brought imports from Asia through Gulf hubs including the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. But growing instability is pushing some businesses to seek more direct links.
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“The latest tensions in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, as well as those in the Strait of Hormuz, have negatively impacted us,” said Mohamed Ali Nur, director of Mogadishu Seaport. “But we have also taken measures to avoid that disruption.”
Nur said the port has been coordinating with exporters to develop alternative supply routes.
“For the first time, we brought a ship carrying sugar directly from Sri Lanka,” Nur said. “This could be a strategy we developed because of these tensions.”
Yemen’s internationally recognized government and Saudi Arabia have been fighting the Houthis for 12 years.
The latest escalation has shattered a ceasefire that had largely brought Yemen’s civil war to a halt since 2022.
As fighting intensifies, the number of Yemenis fleeing the country is rising sharply.
On Sunday, the International Organization for Migration reported that more than 85,000 people had been displaced since the start of the month. The agency said over 2,000 had crossed into Djibouti, which lies next to Somalia.
At Mogadishu’s busy seaport, cargo vessels continue to unload food and other essential commodities. Somalia relies heavily on maritime trade to supply many of the goods consumed by its population each day.
For Somali shoppers, disruptions at sea can eventually translate into changes in local markets. Longer and more complex voyages may raise transport costs, delay deliveries, and make imported food and other products slower to reach store shelves.
Capt Ali Jemdi, a Syrian-born ship captain who transports sugar, said the uncertainty was already raising concerns among vessels operating in the region.
“There is some trouble over there because of the war,” he told The Associated Press, referring to the Arabian Gulf and surrounding waters. “The Bab el-Mandeb may also have some issues for the vessel.”
He said the continued instability could further complicate maritime transport and regional trade.
