**Trader sentiment for weekly Bab el-Mandeb transits centers on the uneven recovery in Suez routing amid persistent Houthi risks.** Recent MarineTraffic and Kpler data show AIS-visible crossings rising modestly to the 223–269 range in mid-to-late August, with containership, bulker, and tanker volumes each posting double-digit week-over-week gains as Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, and COSCO incrementally restore Asia-Europe services. This supports the market’s concentration around the 170–209 bands, reflecting a base rate still roughly 40% below pre-crisis norms. Key differentiating factors include war-risk premiums that have risen again (now case-by-case for Saudi-linked tonnage), a surge in “dark” (AIS-off) transits to evade targeting, and selective Houthi enforcement against Saudi-bound vessels that has cut Yanbu crude loadings by at least one-third since early August. Recent attacks, such as the 24 August strike on the Saudi tanker Amzan and the 11 August incident on the Tihamah, reinforce carrier caution even as spot freight rates ease and more than 30% of certain Maersk Asia-Europe volumes shift back through the strait. The narrow gap between the 190–209 and 170–189 outcomes captures uncertainty over whether incremental service restorations will lift the weekly total above 210 or whether renewed risk aversion and dark-ship undercounting will cap it near recent lows. Resolution hinges on the balance between carrier risk assessments and any further Houthi actions in the immediate period.