   #copyright

Strait of Malacca

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: General Geography

   This wide-angle map of south-east Asia shows that the Strait is the
   most direct route from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. The narrowness
   of the Strait makes it a pinch point for world shipping.
   Enlarge
   This wide-angle map of south-east Asia shows that the Strait is the
   most direct route from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. The narrowness
   of the Strait makes it a pinch point for world shipping.
   The Strait of Malacca separates Sumatra in the South from the Malay
   Peninsula in the North
   Enlarge
   The Strait of Malacca separates Sumatra in the South from the Malay
   Peninsula in the North
   Yearly smoky haze choking the Straits
   Enlarge
   Yearly smoky haze choking the Straits
   A close-up map showing the Strait of Malacca separating peninsular
   Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
   Enlarge
   A close-up map showing the Strait of Malacca separating peninsular
   Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

   The Strait of Malacca (also called the Straits of Malacca, and in Malay
   Selat Melaka) is a narrow stretch of water between Peninsular Malaysia
   (West Malaysia) and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It is located
   around 1.43° N 102.89° E.

Economic importance of the Strait

   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.
   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 805 km (500 mile) channel is only 1.5 nautical miles
   (2.8 km) wide at its narrowest point. This creates one of the world's
   most significant traffic bottlenecks . The maximum size of a vessel
   that can make passage through the Strait is referred to as Malaccamax.

   All these factors have caused the area to become a target for piracy
   and a perceived target for terrorism. Piracy has been a considerable
   problem in the Strait in recent years, rising from around 25 attacks in
   1994 to a record 220 in 2000. Just over 150 attacks were carried out in
   2003. This accounted for around one-third of all piracy in 2003.

   The number of attacks rose again in the first half of 2004, and the
   total number is expected to top the 2000 record. In response to the
   rising crisis, the Malaysian, Indonesian and Singaporean navies stepped
   up their patrols of the area in July 2004.

   Fears of terrorism rest on the possibility that a large ship could be
   pirated and sunk at a shallow point in the Strait (it is just 25m deep
   at its shallowest part), effectively blocking the Strait. If
   successfully achieved, the attack would have a devastating effect on
   world trade. Opinions amongst security specialists differ about the
   feasibility and likelihood of such an attack.

   The 34 shipwrecks located in the busy waterway of the Straits of
   Malacca are worrying to ships plying the busy sea passage. The sunken
   vessels, some dating back to the 1880s, are all located in the Traffic
   Separation Scheme (TSS), the imaginary sealane for commercial ships.
   Mariners are concerned because the shipping channel is narrow in some
   areas and has irregular depths, shallow areas and shifting sand banks
   and mud flaps.

   Another shipping risk in the Straits is the yearly haze that persists
   due to raging bush fires in Sumatra. The haze can choke shipping by
   reducing visibility to as low as 200m making navigation in such a
   narrow and busy trade route hazardous.

   There is also the perceived risk that terrorist or pirates could make
   use of the cover of haze to their advantage in launching operations.

Proposals to relieve the Strait

   Thailand has developed several plans that if implemented would 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 600 miles from the journey from
   Africa and the Middle East to the Pacific. This would effectively cut
   Thailand in two, further isolating the separatist Muslim majority in
   Pattani. The prohibitive financial and ecological costs suggest that no
   such canal will go ahead in the near future despite the backing of
   several Thai politicians, and according to a report leaked to The
   Washington Times in 2004, the offer by China to underwrite the costs of
   the canal. A second alternative is to build a pipeline across the
   isthmus to carry oil to ships waiting on the other side. Proponents of
   the plan 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. Finally, there is also a proposal to directly 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.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strait_of_Malacca"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
