The shipping industry is the lifeblood of global trade and several commodity markets are totally dependent on ships to transport large quantities of crude oil, LNG, diesel or iron ore around the world. A very large quantity of commercial vessels around the world are entirely dedicated to the transportation of energy, metals or grains which speaks volumes about the critical roles played by maritime freight.
Ships, however, do not move around randomly because the costs of sailing vary remarkably based on the route the vessels are going to use. Hence, there are specific routes which are much busier than others purely and simply because they allow you to get to the destination port faster. These routes must follow a precise path because these routes are shorter, save fuel, save money on crew’s wages and insurance and ships are free to move to another cargo and another client faster.
These routes go through some of the largest oceans on the planet like the Indian, the Atlantic and the Pacific ocean, nevertheless, large ships cannot discharge a high amount of cargo in random ports. They need to sail to specific ports which are capable of handling a large quantity of containers or ports which are capable of storing large quantity of crude oil or LNG.
In order to get to these ports as quickly as possible, ships need to sail through obligated passages or straits which allow them to sail through vast territories without having to sail around them. These narrow straits are often called maritime chokepoints. More precisely, maritime chokepoints are narrow straits, however, they can also be canals and these canals can be either natural or artificially dug.
The chokepoints are crucial to the shipping and trade industries because almost all ships in the world have to sail through them. Nevertheless, maritime chokepoints are narrow so they are not particularly easy to sail through and some of them are often targeted by terrorists or independent militias causing geopolitical tensions and disruptions to ship flow.
Despite the geopolitical risk, ships are often forced to sail through them because, as previously mentioned, they shorten the voyage between loading and discharging ports. Hence, avoiding maritime chokepoints would almost inevitably mean lengthening the voyage, consequently increasing costs (fuel, crew, insurance, etc).
The present HyperVolatility research will be focusing on shipping geopolitics and will explore all the most important maritime chokepoints in the world. The present research will look at each chokepoint at first from a geographical point of view and then from an energy and commodity perspective. The present HyperVolatility research will list all the most important facts using bullet points.
Bab-El-Mandeb
I. It is a Strait between Yemen, Djibouti and Eritrea
II. It connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean
III. It leads to the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea
IV. It is 50 km long (31 miles) and it has an average depth of 186 metres (609 feet)
1. It is crucially important for crude oil, petroleum products and LNG tankers
2. High geopolitical risk due to attacks by the Houthi
3. Most of the petroleum and natural gas exports originated from the Persian Gulf goes through it
4. Other than the Mediterranean, it allows tankers to reach the SUMED pipeline
5. On average, there are 78-80 crude oil/LNG tankers sailing through it every week
6. After the Houthis attacks on ships, the average in 2025 dropped to 40-45 vessels
Cape of Good Hope
I. It is located in the Republic of South Africa.
II. It’s located close to the area where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Oceans (Cape Agulhas)
III. It marks the place where ships start sailing more eastward than southward
IV. Very important for sailors both today as well as in ancient times
V. Myth: According to “sailors’ stories”, it is the home of the Flying Dutchman (a ghost ship that cannot make port and it is forced to sail the sea forever)
1. Approximately 15,000 – 20,000 vessels per year sail and pass through the Cape of Good Hope
2. Houthi attacks forced several ships to sail through it rather than going through the Suez Canal
3. Almost all types of ships sail through it (tankers, dry bulk, container, general cargo, RO/RO, etc)
4. Not particularly easy to sail through because of strong currents and adverse weather conditions (also called “Graveyard of Ships” with around 3000 shipwrecks)
5. Sailing through the Cape of Good Hope increases the Europe-Asia voyage by 7000 km (3,467 nautical miles)
Panama Canal
I. Artificially-dug canal connecting the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean
II. The canal was officially opened in 1914
III. It is 82 km long (51 miles) and ships sail through it thanks to a system of locks
IV. Locks lift ships to the Gatun Lake, an artificial lake which is 26 metres (85 feet) above sea level, and then lower them
V. Locks have been widened in 2015
VI. The Canal now allows ships of:
- 370.33 metres (1,215 feet) in length
- Max beam of 51.25 metres (168.14 feet)
- Max draft of 15.24 metres (50 feet)
1. Around 5% of all global trade passes through the Panama Canal every year
2. Panama Canal handles $270 billion worth of goods annually
3. Ships through the Panama Canal accounts for 40% of all US container ship traffic
4. Almost all types of commodities sail through the Panama Canal: from metals to grains, from petroleum products to petrochemical products
5. Most of the traffic involves vessels sailing from the US East Coast to Asia or to South American West Coast. Some ships going from Europe to the South American West Coast also uses it
Strait of Gibraltar
I. It connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea and it separates Europe from Africa
II. Its depth ranges between 300 and 900 metres (980 and 2,953 feet) while its width goes from 14.2 km (8.8 miles) in its narrowest point to 44 km (27.2 miles) in its widest one
III. The Strait of Gibraltar is around 60 km long (37.2 miles)
IV. The territorial waters belong to Spain, Morocco and the UK (Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory)
V. The water level of the Atlantic Ocean is about 1.5 meter higher (5 feet) than the Mediterranean seabed, causing 1 million cubic meters of water (264 million US gallons) to flow in the Mediterranean Sea every second
1. Approximately 25-30% of all maritime trade goes through the Gibraltar Strait every year
2. It is crucial for all ships going from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and vice versa. These ships move among Europe, Africa and the Middle East
3. Between 20% and 30% of all seaborn crude oil, liquefied natural gas/LNG and petroleum product trade sails through the Gibraltar Strait
4. Container ships sail through it very often and its ports serve as transshipment hubs for vessels going to Northern Europe, West Africa, Mediterranean countries or the Middle East
Strait of Hormuz
I. The territorial country surrounding the Strait of Hormuz are Iran, Oman, United Arab Emirates
II. The Strait of Hormuz is 167 km long (103 miles) and it is 96 km wide (59 miles)
III. The Strait has two shipping lanes separated by a median lane. Each shipping lane is about 3 km wide (1.8 miles)
IV. The depth of the Strait is between 60 and 100 metres (200 to 300 feet)
V. Despite its narrowest point is only 39 km wide (24 miles), it is deep enough to let VLCC and VLCV to sail comfortably
1. Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates all ship their crude oils and petroleum products through the Strait of Hormuz
2. Approximately 30% of world’s seaborn oil trade and between 20% of LNG global trade sail through the Strait of Hormuz
3. Around 84% of all crude oil sailing through the Strait of Hormuz goes to China, India, Japan and South Korea
4. China imports almost 90% of Iran’s crude oil but also imports roughly 1.5 million b/d from Saudi Arabia and all these crude tankers sail through the Strait of Hormuz, which is strategically important for several countries
Strait of Malacca
I. It connects the Indian and the Pacific Ocean
II. The territorial countries are Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia
III. It is 900 km long (560 miles) and its width ranges between 65 and 250 km (40 to 155 miles)
IV. The depth of the sea ranges between 25 and 200 metres (82 to 660 feet)
V. The name “Malacca” is associated with the Malacca tree also known as gooseberry tree
1. Around 40% of global trade sails through the Strait of Malacca
2. About 80% of Chinese crude oil imports and a large amount of Japanese oil and LNG imports sails through the Strait of Malacca.
3. It has been estimated that around $3.5 trillion worth of cargo (from crude oil to containers) sails through the Strait of Malacca annually
4. Between 60,000 and 95,000 vessels sail through it on an annual basis
5. There are more than 40 ports dislocated in this Strait and they are used to load and discharge cargo but also for trans-shipment operations
Suez Canal
I. Suez Canal opened more than 100 years ago. It connects the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea
II. The Suez Canal is 193 km long (120 miles) and its sailing width ranges between 200 and 210 metres (656 to 688 feet)
III. A vessel needs between 12 to 16 hours to sail through the canal
IV. The Suez Canal saves vessels that sail from Asia to Europe and vice versa around 1 week of navigation and 3,315 nautical miles (6,139 km or 3,814 miles)
V. The depth of the Suez Canal is 24 metres (79 feet) allowing supertanker with a draught up to 20.1 metres (66 feet) to sail through it safely
1. Approximately 15% of global trade and 30% of global container ship traffic sail through the Suez Canal
2. The traffic through the Suez Canal is estimated to be worth over $1 trillion every year
3. Around 10% of all crude oil and petroleum tankers passes through it
4. Approximately, 8% of the global LNG traffic sails through the Suez Canal
5. Northbound crude oil flow increased by 20% since 2020 because of an increment in European and US demands
6. There are more than 20,500 vessels annually (around 555-57 per day)
Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits
I. Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara with the Mediterranean Sea
II. They are both located along the Turkish coast
III. Bosphorus is 31 km long (19 miles), its minimum width is 700 metres (2,300 feet) and its maximum depth is 110 metres (360 feet)
IV. Dardanelles are 61 km long (38 miles), the minimum width is 1.2 km (0.75 miles) and the depth goes from 55 to 103 metres (180 to 338 feet)
V. Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits are both located in Northeastern Türkiye
1. Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits are crucial for the transportation of crude oil and grains from the Black Sea
2. Around 6.6% of global maritime trade value sail through the Bosphorus
3. Approximately 3% of the world’s total oil supplies sail through the Dardanelles Strait
4. Dardanelles Strait is crucial for Russia because 35%-38% of Russian crude oil exports sail through it
5. Dardanelles Strait is very important also for both Azerbaijan’s and Kazakhstan’s exports
6. Almost 25% of the world’s supply of wheat gets shipped from Black Sea ports and sail through Bosphorus and the Dardanelles
Commodities and Maritime Chokepoints
The classification that has been so far presented goes through each maritime chokepoints, nevertheless, another way to introduce maritime chokepoints is not geographically but based on commodities.
The shipping industry transports almost all commodities but if the most commonly and important ones that go through the maritime chokepoints can be categorised into 3 groups: crude oil and petroleum products, liquefied natural gas (LNG), grains and agricultural products (iron ore although very important follows deep-sea routes and only a minimal part goes through maritime chokepoints and this is precisely why it has not been included in this list).
Crude Oil and Petroleum Products
As far as crude oil and petroleum products are concerned are concerned, the most important maritime chokepoints are the following:
I. Strait of Hormuz
II. Strait of Malacca
III. Bab-El-Mandeb
IV. Suez Canal
V. Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
I. Strait of Hormuz
II. Strait of Malacca
III. Bab-El-Mandeb
IV. Suez Canal
V. Panama Canal
Grains and Agricultural Products
I. Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits
II. Panama Canal
III. Suez Canal
