Global Maritime
Chokepoints

HORMUZ CLOSED · RED SEA BLOCKADED

Updated 12 August 2026

A reference guide to the world's most strategic waterways

Disrupted

Closed or under blockade

Traffic is materially blocked right now, not merely at risk. As of August 2026 this covers the Strait of Hormuz, closed since March, and Bab el-Mandeb under a Houthi blockade.

Restricted

Open, but not running normally

Passable with reduced throughput — from draft limits, security caution, or collapsed demand. The Suez Canal and Panama Canal are both here in August 2026, for opposite reasons.

Primary · Open

Primary Chokepoint

No cost-effective alternative

Straits and canals where closure forces massive detours or cuts off access to entire seas and resource regions. These are the highest-consequence bottlenecks in global trade — and currently operating normally.

Secondary

Secondary Chokepoint

Alternatives exist

Passages that have bypass routes, but disruption would still cause notable detours, added shipping costs, and supply chain delays across affected regions.

There are roughly 200 straits worldwide, but only a handful function as true chokepoints — narrow passages where geography concentrates shipping into corridors that cannot be easily bypassed. This page covers 18 of the most strategically significant. They matter because the global economy runs on maritime trade: over 80% of world goods move by sea, and disruption at any one of these bottlenecks can ripple across energy markets, supply chains, and food security within days. That is not hypothetical in 2026: two of the three most important energy chokepoints — Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb — are disrupted simultaneously as of this update.

    Situation as of 12 August 2026. The Strait of Hormuz has been closed to normal commercial traffic since Iran declared it shut on 4 March 2026, following the start of Operation Epic Fury on 28 February. Transits are running roughly 90% below the pre-crisis baseline — 84 vessels in the week to 2 August, against a historical average near 138 per day — with more than 70 ships still stranded inside the Gulf and war-risk premiums up four- to six-fold. In the Red Sea, a Houthi maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia has cut Bab el-Mandeb traffic 24%, and tanker transits 42%. Asia–Europe shipping has shifted decisively onto the Cape of Good Hope, and the Panama Canal is stepping drafts down again as a strengthening El Niño draws down Gatun Lake. Brent crude peaked at $126 in March and sits near $88.
  

Chokepoint analysis

Strait of Hormuz

CLOSED

Persian Gulf · Iran / Oman

The world's most critical energy chokepoint — with no maritime bypass route — and, since 4 March 2026, closed. Iran declared the strait shut days after Operation Epic Fury began, and the IRGC has enforced it with mines, missiles, and fast attack boats. Traffic collapsed to near zero, recovering only to a trickle dominated by Iranian- and Chinese-linked vessels using the northern corridor. Pipelines through Saudi Arabia and the UAE cannot come close to replacing the ~20 million barrels/day that normally transit by sea.

−90%

transits vs. normal

20%

of world oil

21 mi

width at narrowest

No maritime bypass

bypass route

Strait of Malacca

OPEN

Southeast Asia · Malaysia / Indonesia / Singapore

The busiest chokepoint by ship count and, normally, China, Japan, and South Korea's primary oil lifeline from the Middle East. It remains fully open — but the Hormuz closure has choked off much of the Gulf crude that gives it that role, a reminder that a chokepoint's importance depends on what is still flowing into it. A blockage here would rival Hormuz in economic impact. Singapore coordinates heavy traffic through one of the narrowest shipping lanes in the world.

25%

of global trade

~94,000

ships/year

Lombok

bypass route

Suez Canal

REDUCED

Egypt · Mediterranean / Red Sea

Man-made canal connecting Mediterranean to Red Sea. Physically open and never blocked, but starved of traffic: carriers began cautiously returning in early 2026 before renewed Red Sea attacks pushed them back onto the Cape route. Volumes are recovering off a low base — about 275 transits a week this August, and 1,182 vessels in April for roughly $425M in monthly tolls. The canal's problem is downstream: when Bab el-Mandeb is unsafe, the Suez shortcut is worthless, because ships must round Africa regardless.

~275

transits/week

12%

of global trade (normal)

~$7B

FY2025 revenue

Cape of Good Hope

bypass route

Bab el-Mandeb

BLOCKADED

Red Sea Gateway · Yemen / Djibouti / Eritrea

The southern gateway to the Suez Canal, and the clearest case of a chokepoint held hostage by a non-state actor. Yemen's Houthis resumed attacks on 28 February 2026 and have since declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia, deploying missiles and drones against shipping and pushing operations north toward Saudi crude terminals. Transits fell 24% — 354 vessels the week before the blockade, 269 the week after — with tanker traffic down 42%. Saudi exports are coping through lighter loadings and the Sumed pipeline.

−24%

transits

−42%

tanker transits

18 mi

width

Cape of Good Hope

bypass route

Panama Canal

RESTRICTED

Central America · Atlantic / Pacific

The primary Atlantic-Pacific shortcut, carrying ~5% of global trade. Its locks run on freshwater from Gatun Lake, making it the one major chokepoint constrained by weather rather than politics. It fully recovered from the 2023–24 drought — FY2025 revenue rose 14.4% to $5.7B on 13,404 transits — but a strengthening El Niño has forced a fresh series of step-downs: Neopanamax draft cut to 14.78m on 15 August, 14.63m on 26 August, and 14.48m from 3 September. Transit slots are being held near 36 a day; ships simply carry less.

14.48 m

max draft (Sept)

of global trade

13,404

FY2025 transits

Cape Horn / Magellan

bypass route

Bosphorus

OPEN

Turkey · Black Sea / Mediterranean

Turkey controls both the Bosphorus and Dardanelles under the 1936 Montreux Convention, giving it legal authority to restrict warship passage in wartime. This single-nation control over a major waterway makes Turkey a pivotal gatekeeper between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. Commercial transit continues under Montreux through 2026, though after attacks on Black Sea shipping Ankara has layered on extra safety checks for selected bulk and energy vessels bound for Russian ports — brief delays, not closure.

of global oil

Turkey

controller

None

bypass route

Strait of Gibraltar

OPEN

Atlantic / Mediterranean · Spain / Morocco

The only maritime gateway between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. All shipping to or from Mediterranean ports must pass through here. Gibraltar, on the northern shore, is a British Overseas Territory. One of the busiest waterways on Earth with low disruption risk but enormous strategic significance.

~100,000

ships/year

14km

narrowest point

None

bypass route

Cape of Good Hope

SURGING

South Africa · Atlantic / Indian Ocean

Not a chokepoint so much as the release valve for two of them — and in 2026 it has become the default Asia–Europe routing rather than the exception. Traffic surged as the Red Sea emptied out. It is open water with no one able to close it, but the cost is structural: roughly 3,200 extra nautical miles, 10–14 extra days, $1–2M in added fuel per voyage, and container rates 30–60% above pre-diversion levels.

+3,200 nmi

added distance

+10-14 days

added transit

+30-60%

container rates

Suez / Bab el-Mandeb

bypasses

Danish Straits

OPEN

Baltic Sea outlet · Denmark / Sweden

The only maritime exit for Baltic Sea nations — Russia, Finland, Sweden, Poland, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. With Denmark and Sweden both in NATO, the alliance effectively holds the cork in the Baltic bottle. The live contest here is legal rather than military: roughly 175 shadow-fleet tankers move Russian crude through the straits each month, and Denmark funded expanded inspections in its 2026 budget — port-state boardings plus fuel-sulfur "sniffers" on the Great Belt Bridge — using environmental and safety law to pressure a trade it cannot lawfully stop.

~175/mo

shadow-fleet transits

NATO

controlled

Kiel Canal

bypass route

Secondary chokepoints

Taiwan Strait

SECONDARY

East Asia · Taiwan / China

A 110-mile-wide passage carrying roughly 20% of global maritime trade by value, including critical semiconductor supply chains. Listed as secondary only because it is wide and currently open — by consequence it would rank first. 2026 has cut both ways: a PLA carrier transit in April and heavier Chinese Coast Guard patrolling, alongside a cautious restart of cross-strait exchanges.

~20%

of global trade

110 mi

width

Korea Strait

SECONDARY

East Asia · South Korea / Japan

Links the East China Sea to the Sea of Japan. Vital for Japanese and South Korean trade, particularly energy imports. Tsushima Island divides the strait into two channels.

120 mi

width

Energy

key cargo

Lombok Strait

SECONDARY

Southeast Asia · Bali / Lombok, Indonesia

The primary bypass for the Strait of Malacca. Deep enough for supertankers and VLCCs that cannot transit Malacca's shallow Phillips Channel. About 3,900 ships transit annually.

~3,900

ships/year

Deep

draft capable

Sunda Strait

SECONDARY

Southeast Asia · Java / Sumatra, Indonesia

Another Malacca alternative connecting the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean. Narrower and shallower than Lombok, limiting it to smaller vessels. About 2,280 ships transit annually.

~2,280

ships/year

15 mi

width

Florida Straits

SECONDARY

Caribbean · Florida / Cuba / Bahamas

Connects the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. Carries significant oil tanker traffic from Gulf Coast refineries and serves as a primary shipping corridor for U.S. energy exports.

93 mi

width

Oil

key cargo

Windward Passage

SECONDARY

Caribbean · Cuba / Haiti

A 50-mile-wide channel between Cuba and Hispaniola. Important shortcut between the U.S. East Coast and the Panama Canal, reducing transit time compared to routing through the Florida Straits.

50 mi

width

Panama

route link

Strait of Magellan

SECONDARY

South America · Chile / Argentina

A navigable Atlantic-Pacific route at South America's tip. Calmer than the Drake Passage but narrow with tricky currents. About 1,500 ships transit annually, mainly as a Panama Canal alternative.

~1,500

ships/year

350 mi

length

Cape Horn

SECONDARY

South America · Chile

The traditional bypass for the Panama Canal, used by vessels that cannot fit through the canal's locks or when drought-induced water shortages limit canal capacity. Known for extreme weather and powerful currents.

Panama

bypass route

Extreme

weather risk

Northern Sea Route

SECONDARY

Arctic · Russia's Northern Coast

A much-hyped bypass across Russia's Arctic coast that keeps underdelivering. Total cargo fell for a second straight year in 2025, to 37.0M tonnes — less than half Moscow's 80M-tonne target — even as through-traffic hit a record 103 transit voyages carrying 3.2M tonnes. Melting ice is widening the summer window, but escort costs, insurance, and sanctions matter more than ice does.

37.0 Mt

2025 cargo (−2.3%)

103

transit voyages