Maritime transport currently represents 95% of everything transported in the world, two-thirds corresponding to oil and mineral traffic and container ships being a fifth of the total. The mega containers would have become essential elements to maintain the feverish export capacity of China, the Asian tigers or the European Union since they combine the capacity…
The Strait of Malacca, which runs between the Malay Peninsula (Malacca) and Sumatra, is the most convenient maritime route to take between the Indian and Pacific oceans. From time immemorial, it has held tremendous significance for international trade. Even back in ancient times, ports sprang up on the shores of the strait that were visited…
Many political scientists could not but notice and weigh in on a trend on the global arena – Japan is not particularly quickly yet steadfastly gaining a foothold in the Indian Ocean (and not only in the regions of the Middle East and North Africa). This process appears to be shaping, in a gradual manner,…
Threats to oil shipping routes are nothing new to the oil market. It has endured Iran seizing tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, and it has endured Iran’s repeated threats to close this most important chokepoint in the world. But what the oil market is perhaps not prepared to shrug off are similar threats made…
While everyone has been watching the Strait of Hormuz amid rising tension between the US and Iran, a chokepoint on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula is now at the center of the action. Saudi Arabia temporarily halted all oil shipments through the Bab al-Mandeb strait after Saudi Aramco reported attacks from Houthi rebels on two…
