The Strait of Malacca (Malay Ave.) passes between large land areas - the Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra. This is the oldest sea route between China and India.
Where is the Strait of Malacca
Located in Southeast Asia, it shares the Malacca (Malay) Peninsula with the island of Sumatra.
The Strait of Malacca connects the Indian and Pacific Oceans (South China Sea). Its length is 1000 kilometers, the approximate width is 40 kilometers, and the depth does not exceed 25 meters.
The northern and eastern shores of the strait and islands belong to the kingdom of Thailand. The rest of the coast belongs to Malaysia, and the island of Sumatra to Indonesia. The largest islands of the Strait of Malacca: Phuket, Pinang, Langkawi.
origin of name
The name its strait most likely received from the Malacca Sultanate, whose power was distributed here. Although this influence lasted less than a century - from 1414 to 1511. According to another theory, the name comes from the port of Melaka, currently it is the city of Malacca in Malaysia.
Pages of history
When the Europeans first visited here, they were amazed at how developed the ports of the Strait of Malacca were. They were in no way inferior to those in Europe, both in trading activity and in the quantity and quality of shipyards. In 1511, the Portuguese established their power here, until the half of the 16th century they controlled the strait, not letting the Malacca Sultanate enter here. In the next century, the Dutch established themselves here. The British tried to overthrow them (for whom they were competitors). The forces were approximately the same, and the indigenous population did not support either one or the other. Thus, one century in the strait was relatively quiet, there were no major skirmishes. It is not known how long this reign would have continued if not for the war of Napoleon, who at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries occupied Holland. England took advantage of the situation and captured the strait and its ports, including Singapore. In 1824, the Malacca Sultanate also began to be included in the list of British colonies, where he remained until 1957. Unless, of course, the occupation of Japan during World War II was considered. Colonization led to the intensive development of this trade route. He is still the most important link between Europe and the countries of Asia, the Middle East, and America.
What connects the Strait of Malacca. Shipping
This strait is quite narrow, its width in some places reaches 3 kilometers, but long (1000 kilometers) and very important. The movement on it is hampered by the fact that there are many shallows in it, and reefs lurked in some places. The significance of the Strait of Malacca can be compared with the status of the Suez and Panama Canals. The most important sea routes pass here. If you look at the map which oceans are connected by the Strait of Malacca, one cannot but appreciate its significance.
This is the main connecting link of several cardinal points. There is a transport connection between three large states - Indonesia, India, China. In the year, the Strait of Malacca crosses 50 thousand ships for various purposes, sometimes their number sometimes reaches 900. In addition, there are ferries. The Strait of Malacca is as busy as possible, transportation here provides 20-25 percent of maritime trade. Oil is transported from Iran and other
Gulf countries to China, Japan and many East Asian states. This is 11 million barrels per day and 25 percent of all shipments of black gold. The needs of these states are constantly growing, and therefore the load on the strait is increasing.
Obstacles to shipping
Piracy has existed here for several centuries. It so happened that in this strait it always brought a very large income and, in addition to everything else, was a political tool. Throughout history, the strait has played a large role in the struggle for power in Southeast Asia.
As already mentioned, the Strait of Malacca is very important for trade, there are transport routes. For this reason, there is a great threat of pirate attacks, so here the governments of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia are forced to introduce patrols of the Strait of Malacca. The actions of criminals can suppress world trade, for this it is enough to sink a large vessel in the smallest place.
Another problem is smoke. Since forest fires often occur on the island of Sumatra , visibility periodically decreases significantly. But it is very important for shipping.
Environmental problems
The Strait of Malacca is a section of the world's oceans that is very rich in flora and fauna. 36 different species of rocky corals live on reefs. Since a large number of oil tankers pass through the strait every day, a great threat to the environment is created. The probability of a catastrophe is very high, because some places in the strait are very narrow and dangerous.
In Philips Chenele, off the coast of Singapore, the width barely reaches 3 kilometers. And the likelihood of a pirate attack generally makes this unpredictable. In 1993, a Danish tanker drowned here, the consequences of this accident are still not completely eliminated. Smoke factor is also very important, as it affects the visibility.
Proposal to shorten the path
In Thailand, plans were developed to reduce the load on the Strait of Malacca. One of the suggestions was to shorten the sea route through the strait thanks to the Isthmus of Kra. So it was possible to reduce the road by sea by 960 kilometers. So in particular, it was possible to bypass the separatist-minded Muslim province of Pattani. But the possibility of financial costs and environmental impact gets in the way of implementing this idea.
The second proposal is to build a land pipeline to pump oil through this isthmus. It is planned to build two more refineries in Malaysia. The pipeline will be 320 kilometers long and should connect two Malaysian states. Oil from the Middle East will be refined at refineries, then pumped from Kedah to Kelantan. And from there, loaded onto tankers and sent through the Strait of Malacca and Singapore.