Coordinates: The Strait of Malacca is a narrow, 805 km (500 mile) stretch of water between Peninsular Malaysia (West Malaysia) and the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Economic importance

From an economic and strategic perspective the Strait of Malacca is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world, an equivalent of the Suez Canal, or the Panama Canal. The Strait forms the main ship passageway between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, linking three of the world's most populous nations: India, Indonesia and China as well as linking the regions west of the strait with powerhouse economies such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. The Strait carries 50,000 vessels per year, carrying between one-fifth and one quarter of the world's sea trade. A quarter of all oil shipments carried by sea come through the Strait, in 2003, an estimated 11 million barrels (1,700,000 m³) a day, a trade that is expected to expand as oil consumption rises in China.

At Phillips Channel near Singapore, the Strait narrows to 2.8 km (1.5 nautical miles) wide, creating one of the world's most significant traffic chokepoints [1].

The maximum size of a vessel that can make passage through the Strait is referred to as Malaccamax. Large oil tankers that exceed Malaccamax will typically use the Lombok Strait instead.

Shipping hazards

Piracy in the Strait has risen in recent years. There were about 25 attacks on vessels in 1994, 220 in 2000, and just over 150 in 2003 (one-third of the global total).

After attacks rose again in the first half of 2004, the Malaysian, Indonesian and Singaporean navies stepped up their patrols of the area in July 2004.

Some security specialists say a terrorist group might hijack a large ship, sink it in a shallow point (it is just 25 m deep at its shallowest), and block traffic, slowing shipments and causing economic losses around the world. Others say this kind of attack is either infeasible or unlikely.

See also:

There are 34 shipwrecks, some dating to the 1880s, in the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS), the imaginary sealane for commercial ships. These pose a collision hazard in the narrow and shallow Strait.[2] Another risk is the yearly haze caused by raging bush fires in Sumatra. It can reduce visibility to 200 m, forcing ships to slow down in the busy strait. Some fear it might also give cover to terrorists or pirates.

Proposals to relieve the strait

Thailand has developed several plans to diminish the economic significance of the Strait. The Thai government has over the course of its history several times proposed to cut a canal through the Isthmus of Kra, shaving around 960 km (600 miles) from the journey from Africa and the Middle East to the Pacific. This would also cut Thailand in two, further isolating the separatist Muslim majority in Pattani. China has offered to cover the costs, according to a report leaked to The Washington Times in 2004. Nevertheless, and despite the support of several Thai politicians, the prohibitive financial and ecological costs suggest that no such canal will go ahead.

A second alternative is to build a pipeline across the isthmus to carry oil to ships waiting on the other side. Proponents say it would cut the cost of oil delivery to Asia by about $0.50/barrel ($3/m³). Myanmar has also made a similar pipeline proposal. There is also a proposal to pipe crude from the Middle East to Xinjiang, China. Building began in October 2004.

Early sea routes

Early traders from Egypt, Rome, Arabia, Africa, Turkey, Persia and India used to reach the Malaysian state of Kedah before arriving at Guangzhou. Kedah served as a western port on the Malay Peninsula. These traders were brought into Kedah by the monsoon trade winds between June through November. They returned between December through May. Kedah provided accommodations, porters, small vessels, bamboo rafts, elephants and also tax collections, for goods to be transported over land toward the eastern states of the Malay Peninsula like Kelantan. Ships from China came to trade at these eastern trading posts and ports. Kedah and Funan were famous ports through the 6th century, before the usage of the Straits of Malacca as a trade route.

See also

• Early history of Kedah
• Sultanate of Kedah
• Srivijaya
• Sultanate of Malacca
• Malacca Town
• Malacca
• Piracy in the Strait of Malacca
• Sunda Strait
• Lombok Strait
• Makassar Strait

References

• World oil transit chokepoints
• BBC News report on the increased security in the Straits
• "Going for the jugular" Report on the potential terrorist threat to the Straits. From the Economist, requires subscription, in the print edition June 10th 2004
• China builds up strategic sea lanes
• A report from the International Maritime Organisation on the implementation of a Straits "Marine Electronic Highway" - a series of technological measures to ensure safe and efficient use of the busy waters

External links

• The Malacca Straits Research and Development Centre homepage
• Al-Jazeera: Malacca Strait nations plan air patrol
• Waterway To the World