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Mancalë Index · method v0.2

Red Sea / Bab el-Mandeb

Is the news about this chokepoint louder or quieter than the ships passing through it justify? Measured each week against a fixed 2019–22 normal.

Ships ahead of news

Week of 2 November 2026

Ship traffic: 26.3 ships a day, −54% against a normal of 57; news coverage 6.7× its normal. Gap −2.37. Ships ahead of news for 2 weeks.

Ship transits, % of the 2019–22 normal

Red Sea / Bab el-Mandeb: ship transits each week from 31 Dec 2018 to 02 Nov 2026. In the latest week, 26.3 a day, −54% against normal. Lowest week: 14 Sept 2026, −57%.

News coverage, multiple of its 2019–22 normal (log scale)

Red Sea / Bab el-Mandeb: news coverage each week as a multiple of normal. Latest week: 6.7×. Loudest week: 08 Jan 2024, 135×.

Mancalë gap: attention minus flow stress

Red Sea / Bab el-Mandeb: the gap each week. Latest week: −2.37. Highest: +5.85 in the week of 18 Dec 2023. Lowest: −4.73 in the week of 08 Dec 2025.

Read with care: The news query needs a shipping word next to "Red Sea" or "Bab el-Mandeb", so coverage of the Red Sea in other contexts does not count.

Other chokepoints

The same reading elsewhere

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