If you are part and puzzle of the shipping industry specializing in oceanic transport and trade, definitely you are aware of various ocean shipping lanes that virtually assist you in moving from one point to another to complete your delivery. Statistics reveal that the shipping industry transport around 11 billion tons of freight over the ocean annually. This shipment accounts for approximately 88% of all products that trade on a global platform revealing why ocean shipping lanes are of great significance.Shipping in the ocean has all the space your shipment needs and it can be delivered anywhere across the world.
According to Forbes, the next decennium will witness more innovative ideologies in ocean shipping related advancements than the past hundred years combined. Shipping lanes are both human-made and natural. Their crucial role is to streamline the shipping process and deliver the item to their destination as fast and efficiently as possible. This article will outline the significant ocean shipping lanes that play an enormous role in global trade.
Bosphorus Strait
This strait links the Marmara Sea and the Black Sea. It’s a boundary between Asia and Europe, and it is used primarily for military, commercial, and oil trade. Currently, there are two bridges, namely Phosphorous Bridge and the Faith Sultan Mehmed spanning this strait.
Bosphorus has formulated restrained traveling and size restrictions imposed on it, but normal operations for chemical tankers, cargo ships, bulk carriers, livestock vessels, and container ships pass through each day. Bosphorus strait stretches along 19 miles with the largest width of 2.3 miles across, being at the northernmost entrance. The locals heavily fish from this strait.
Panama Canal
This canal is a human-made ocean shipping lane under the ownership of the Republic of Panama. Its vital role is to mitigate transit time for vessels traveling between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Panama Canal was completed in 1914. It allows ships to connect the oceans instead of sailing around Cape Horn and South America’s southern tip, therefore, cutting between 2000 and 8000 miles off every vessel’s trip.
This canal is regarded as one of the most strategically situated human-made shipping lanes in the globe. Around 14,000 vessels pass through the Panama Canal annually carrying refrigerated and canned food to chemicals, machinery, lumber, fats, or vegetable oils.
Saint Lawrence Seaway
This shipping lane joins the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, and the seaway system culminates into the world’s tenacious deep-batch navigation system. You can spend approximately eight and a half days traveling from the Atlantic Ocean to Duluth, Minnesota, and the Great Lakes.
Saint Lawrence Seaway shipping lane extends for about 2,300 miles through North America, serving as a direct linkage designation for Quebec, Ontario, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and New York. Over 300,000 pounds of materials crisscross the Saint Lawrence Seaway annually, including clothing, machinery, lumber, and agricultural products.
Strait of Malacca
This strait connects the South China Sea in the Pacific Ocean to the Andaman Sea in the Indian Ocean. It’s the second busiest waterway globally. You will notice that it possesses a distinct funnel shape. It’s the shortest route between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
This shipping lane plays a significant role in various economies, including Malaysia, India, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, and South Korea. Statistics reveal that around 83000 vessels use this shipping lane each year to deliver and transport cargo. This strait is famous for ferrying palm oil, coal, liquefied natural gas.
Suez Canal
Currently, Suez Canal is one of the most vital shipping lanes in the world. It’s a human-made shipping route connecting the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. You take the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea course when you take the Suez Canal route.
To navigate through the Suez Canal takes about 16 hours from start to finish. It’s one of the most utilized shipping lanes globally, accounting for about 100 vessels making their way through it every day. It’s crucial for the transportation of oil and catering to freight industries.
The Danish Straits
Its works seamlessly connect the Baltic Sea to the North Sea. A system of three channels, namely Little Belt, the Great Belt, and the Oresund, form Danish Straits. The Great Belt Channel is the widest of the three tracks in the Danish Straits.
These dimensions make this strait to be a perfect shipping lane for large or oversized vessels. Statistics demonstrate that millions of crude oil barrels use this shipping lane every day. It’s also popular with freight vessels and for transporting dry goods to and from Russia to Europe. This strait is pivotal to Europe’s petroleum trade.
