Malacca Strait

The Strait of Malacca is a narrow, 500 mile long stretch of water between Peninsular Malaysia (West Malaysia) and the Indonesian island of Sumatra.  From an economic and strategic perspective the Strait of Malacca is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world, equal or greater than the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal.  The strait is the main shipping channel between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, linking major Asian economies such as India, China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.  Over 50,000 vessels pass through the strait per year, carrying about one-quarter of the world’s traded goods including oil, Chinese manufacturers and Indonesian coffee.  About a quarter of all oil shipments carried by sea pass through the strait, mainly from Persian Gulf suppliers to Asian markets such as China, Japan, and South Korea.  In 2006 an estimated 15 million barrels per day were transported through the strait.  Large oil tankers that exceed the maximum size will typically use the Lombok Strait instead.  At Phillips Channel near Singapore, the Strait of Malacca narrows to 1.5 nautical miles wide, creating one of the world’s most significant traffic chokepoints.  We are now on high alert and will be for the next 3 weeks as pirates have been in these waters.  Great!