Aected by where oil is produced and consumed, there are 

currently eight major shipping lanes for crude oil:

Conduit 1 Strait of Hormuz

The Strait of Hormuz, where Iran and Oman share territorial rights, 

is the world’s most strategically important chokepoint, and is also 

considered a vital sea route for oil seaborne trade. A signicant 

portion of oil from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, 

Iran, and Iraq is shipped to international buyers, mostly to Asia 

through the strait.

The Strait of Hormuz is deep and wide enough to handle the 

world’s largest crude tankers.

As the Strait of Hormuz has been a strategic chokepoint for many 

years, it has often been the site of conict and there have been 

many threats by neighboring countries to close it. 

Conduit 2 Strait of Malacca

The Strait of Malacca is the shortest waterway connecting 

the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea and the Pacic Ocean. 

Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia share the territorial right of 

the strait. Most of the Middle Eastern crude shipped through this 

passage is headed to China, Japan, and Indonesia. This strait is also 

vital oil sea route for Japan.

In contrast to the Strait of Hormuz, the Malacca Strait is one of the 

narrowest sea routes in the world with only 1.7 miles wide at its 

narrowest point, creating a natural bottleneck for shipping. 

Conduit 3 Cape of Good Hope

Although not a chokepoint, the Cape of Good Hope, located on 

the southern tip of South Africa, is a major trade route for Asia?bound West African crude.

The Cape of Good Hope is an alternate sea route for vessels 

traveling westward that need to bypass the Suez Canal or Bab el?Mandeb when they are closed. However, diversion around the 

Cape of Good Hope incurs signicantly higher transport cost and 

shipping time. For shipments from Saudi Arabia to the United 

States, this route around adds 2,700 miles to transit distance.

Conduit 4 Bab el-Mandeb

Bab el-Mandeb Connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and is 

the strategic link between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian 

Ocean. It is only 18 miles wide at its narrowest point. Closure of the 

Bab el-Mandeb could keep tankers originating in the Persian Gulf 

from reaching the Suez Canal, diverting them around the southern 

tip of Africa, which would add to transit time and cost.

According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), most 

exports from the Persian Gulf that transit the Suez Canal also pass 

through Bab el-Mandeb, so closure of the strait would lead to 

serious consequences.

Conduit 5 Danish Straits

The Danish straits connect the Baltic Sea to the North Sea and are 

among the most secure crude oil shipping routes in the world.

 The Danish Straights also carry a relatively small portion of oil from 

Norway and the United Kingdom eastward to the Scandinavian 

markets. This means if Russia ever shut down the Danish Straits, it 

would also be cutting oits own oil export route to Europe.

Conduit 6 Suez Canal

The Suez Canal passes through Egypt and the Isthmus of Suez and 

connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. Most of the oil passing 

through the canal is sold to markets in Europe and North America.

According to the EIA, the Suez Canal was expanded in 2010 to 

allow 60% of the world’s tankers to pass through more eectively. 

The fall of President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt in 2011 and the 

resulting unrest did little to deter international shipping through 

the canal, but security of this vital link remains a primary concern.

Conduit 7 Bosphorus Strait

The Bosphorus Strait is a narrow stretch of water connecting 

the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. It splits Istanbul’s Asian and 

European halves. Only half a mile wide at the narrowest point, the 

strait is among the world’s most dicult waterways to navigate 

and an average of about 48,000 ships pass transit the strait each 

year.

According to the EIA, Russia has been shifting its oil exports away 

from the Black Sea and toward the Baltic Ports, while Azerbaijan 

and Kazakhstan have increased shipping through the Bosphorus 

Strait.

Conduit 8 Panama Canal

The Panama Canal connects the Pacic Ocean with the Caribbean 

Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The utility of the Panama Canal has 

waned in the years since it was built. The narrowest point of the 

canal was only 110-feet wide, forcing larger supertankers to avoid 

the canal entirely. With an expansion program of Panama Canal 

completed on Jun. 26, 2016, it now allows larger ships to transit 

the canal.

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