Straits and canals

In short: Straits are natural narrow waterways between two seas, while canals are artificially built connections. Both shorten sea routes enormously and are among the most important bottlenecks of world trade.

In more detail: Because a great deal of shipping is concentrated at these points, they are of great economic and strategic importance. Disruptions, for example from accidents or closures, can delay supply chains around the world.

In detail

• Strait of Gibraltar: It links the Mediterranean with the Atlantic and, at its narrowest point, separates Europe and Africa by only a few kilometres.
• Bosphorus and Dardanelles: Through these straits and the Sea of Marmara the Black Sea is connected to the Mediterranean; the Bosphorus runs right through Istanbul.
• English Channel: The stretch of sea between England and France is one of the busiest shipping routes, and the Channel Tunnel has run beneath it since 1994.
• Strait of Malacca: It lies between the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra and is a main route between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific.
• Strait of Hormuz: A large share of the world’s traded oil is shipped through this strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
• Suez Canal: Opened in 1869, the canal links the Mediterranean and the Red Sea without locks and saves the voyage around Africa.
• Panama Canal: Opened in 1914, the canal uses locks to lift ships over a reservoir lake and connects the Atlantic and the Pacific.
• Kiel Canal: It links the North Sea and the Baltic across Schleswig-Holstein and is one of the busiest artificial waterways in the world.
• Bering Strait: This strait separates Asia from North America; during the Ice Age a land bridge lay here (welthandelsrouten-von-der-seidenstrasse-bis-heute, meere-und-meeresstroemungen, nordsee-ostsee-und-wattenmeer).