Renewed Houthi threats and attacks on commercial vessels, tied to the 2026 Iran conflict and a July blockade targeting Saudi-linked shipping, remain the dominant driver of subdued transits through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Recent Kpler and MarineTraffic data show daily volumes stabilizing near 25–32 ships after an initial 24% drop from pre-blockade levels around 50, with a fresh August 11 incident underscoring persistent risk. Elevated war-risk insurance premiums and rerouting incentives continue to suppress volumes below historical norms, keeping market-implied odds tightly clustered between the 25–29 and sub-25 bins. Traders price in limited near-term escalation or de-escalation before month-end, with any further incidents or diplomatic signals likely to shift the narrow 30.5%–28% lead.
Experimental AI-generated summary referencing Polymarket data. This is not trading advice and plays no role in how this market resolves. · UpdatedAvg. # of ships transiting Bab el-Mandeb Strait end of August?
25-29 31%
<25 28.0%
30-34 24%
35-39 10%
<25
28%
25-29
31%
30-34
24%
35-39
10%
40+
10%
25-29 31%
<25 28.0%
30-34 24%
35-39 10%
<25
28%
25-29
31%
30-34
24%
35-39
10%
40+
10%
Transit calls include container, dry bulk, roll-on/roll-off, general cargo, and tanker ships. Ships not reported by IMF Portwatch will not be considered.
This market will resolve as soon as the relevant data has been published. If the relevant data is not published within 14 calendar days of the specified date, this market will resolve based on the most recent data published up to that point.
In case of obvious data integrity issues (i.e., erroneous data), the market may remain open until the end of the third calendar day (ET) after the date on which such data is first released to allow for corrections. Data integrity issues refer only to clerical or other similar errors in the underlying data, and do not include cases where IMF Portwatch differs from alternative sources.
The resolution source for this market will be IMF PortWatch, specifically the “Arrivals of Ships” data published for the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at https://portwatch.imf.org/pages/6b1814d64903461b98144a6cc25eb79c.
Market Opened: Jul 31, 2026, 2:13 PM ET
Resolution Source
IMF PortWatchResolver
0x69c47De9D...Transit calls include container, dry bulk, roll-on/roll-off, general cargo, and tanker ships. Ships not reported by IMF Portwatch will not be considered.
This market will resolve as soon as the relevant data has been published. If the relevant data is not published within 14 calendar days of the specified date, this market will resolve based on the most recent data published up to that point.
In case of obvious data integrity issues (i.e., erroneous data), the market may remain open until the end of the third calendar day (ET) after the date on which such data is first released to allow for corrections. Data integrity issues refer only to clerical or other similar errors in the underlying data, and do not include cases where IMF Portwatch differs from alternative sources.
The resolution source for this market will be IMF PortWatch, specifically the “Arrivals of Ships” data published for the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at https://portwatch.imf.org/pages/6b1814d64903461b98144a6cc25eb79c.
Resolution Source
IMF PortWatchResolver
0x69c47De9D...Renewed Houthi threats and attacks on commercial vessels, tied to the 2026 Iran conflict and a July blockade targeting Saudi-linked shipping, remain the dominant driver of subdued transits through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Recent Kpler and MarineTraffic data show daily volumes stabilizing near 25–32 ships after an initial 24% drop from pre-blockade levels around 50, with a fresh August 11 incident underscoring persistent risk. Elevated war-risk insurance premiums and rerouting incentives continue to suppress volumes below historical norms, keeping market-implied odds tightly clustered between the 25–29 and sub-25 bins. Traders price in limited near-term escalation or de-escalation before month-end, with any further incidents or diplomatic signals likely to shift the narrow 30.5%–28% lead.
Experimental AI-generated summary referencing Polymarket data. This is not trading advice and plays no role in how this market resolves. · Updated

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