Strait of Malacca

From the Crow’s Nest -

We are passing though the Strait of Malacca, a 500-mile long channel running SE/NW between the Indonesian island of Sumatra and the Asian mainland region defined by the Malay peninsula. At its narrowest point, the strait is only 1.5 miles wide, so ship traffic can become very congested. The strait serves as the principal shipping channel between the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Over 50,000 vessels traverse the strait each year, carrying one-quarter of global trade. Oil from the Persian Gulf states moves eastward to the oil-hungry economies of China, Japan, and South Korea. In turn, their goods move westward to India, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. The strait is not only narrow, it is also shallow. In places the depth is only 25 meters (82 feet) and large supertankers must avoid it by going south around Sumatra and finding deeper routes through the Indonesian archipelago. The size limit for vessels able to pass through the Strait of Malacca is called the “Malaccamax”; any ship larger than the MalaccaMax must find an alternative path. The Strait of Malacca was notorious for piracy, and to some extent still is, but a crackdown by the Malaysian, Indonesian, and Singapore navies beginning in 2004 has made the strait a much safer channel than it was.

Reg Garrett

Bunkering in Singapore. Photo of Singapore from our anchorage. It is very smoggy and you have to look hard to see the city skyline in the distance. The vessel is the refueling ship that is tied up to the MV Explorer.