MARAD Advisory 2026-004 and UKMTO data confirm severe GNSS/GPS interference extending from the strait of Hormuz across the Gulf of Oman and into the Red Sea near Bab al-Mandeb1. This is not a side effect of military operations but a deliberate electronic denial zone spanning two of the world's three critical maritime chokepoints.
No modern peacetime precedent exists for electronic warfare denial at this scale. During the Tanker War (1987 to 1988), mines and missile boats threatened individual vessels. The current denial threatens the navigational infrastructure itself, degrading the ability of any vessel to determine its own position across a 2,500-kilometre corridor. The Houthis threatened Bab al-Mandeb closure the day after Pakistan confirmed talks had stalled.
Vessels diverting from Hormuz toward the Red Sea now navigate degraded positioning systems approaching a second contested chokepoint. Roughly 4.5 million barrels per day and 12% of global trade pass through Bab al-Mandeb. Combined with near-total Hormuz closure, the world's two most important oil chokepoints are under simultaneous pressure for the first time since the 1973 oil crisis2. The Cape of Good Hope route adds 10 to 14 days and $500,000 to $1 million per voyage in fuel costs.
