Chokepoints and risks
A chokepoint is a narrow strait or a canal on a main sea route. Most oil carried by sea passes through a handful of them, and ships cannot easily go around.
Why it changes the price
- DuesCanals charge every ship: Suez and Panama by the size of the tanker. In the Turkish Straits ships pay for pilots and escort tugs.
- TimeConvoys, locks and slow passages add days, and every day of a voyage is paid at the tanker's daily cost.
- RiskWhere ships come under attack, insurers charge an extra war-risk premium, and many owners take the longer way round.
Below is each chokepoint with facts from our sources and how our quotes account for it.
Strait of Hormuz
The only sea route out of the Persian Gulf, carrying 20.9 million barrels a day in the first half of 2025. Since March 2026 tanker traffic has fallen to between 0.4 and 5.4 ships a day, against 30 to 58 a day in 2025, as the US MARAD warns of attacks on merchant ships. Saudi and UAE pipelines can move about 4.7 million barrels a day around the strait.
- In our quotes
- No fee and no extra time. War-risk insurance can be added as a service: tick it under the price, or request a passage for any tanker below.
- Share of our routes
- 18% of the 12,561 port pairs we price pass the Strait of Hormuz on the shortest route (2,288).
Extra war-risk insurance and naval escort coordination for any tanker, with or without a cargo from us.
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Buying a cargo from us? Tick the service under the price in the calculator.
Figures and limits5
| Item | Value | Conditions | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| oil flow 1H25 | 20.9 (crude 14.7 / products 6.1) mb/d | 1H25 | EIA World Oil Transit Chokepoints (updated 2026-03-03; flows from Vortexa) (B) | |
| vessel size limit | none (deep enough for largest crude tankers) | EIA statement | EIA World Oil Transit Chokepoints (updated 2026-03-03; flows from Vortexa) (B) | |
| tanker transits 2026 | 0.4–5.4 per day (Mar–Oct 2026) vs 30–58/day in 2025 tankers/day | AIS-based; dark/escorted transits undercounted — lower bound | 2026 | IMF PortWatch chokepoints database (C) |
| bypass pipelines | ~4.7 (Saudi East-West + UAE ADCOP); Goreh–Jask ~0.3 mb/d | EIA World Oil Transit Chokepoints (updated 2026-03-03; flows from Vortexa) (B) | ||
| US MARAD advisory | 2026-011: Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman — Iranian attacks on commercial vessels (missiles, UAVs, unmanned boats, navigation interference) | advisory, not a legal prohibition for all flags | 2026-09-09 | US MARAD advisory, quoted in our research handbook (D) |
Bab el-Mandeb
Joins the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden: 4.2 million barrels a day in the first half of 2025. Houthi attacks on shipping since November 2023 keep it a Joint War Committee listed area, and tanker transits fell to about 8 a day in August–October 2026 from 14 to 15 a day in February–June.
- In our quotes
- No fee. Where a route passes the Red Sea, the quote also shows the longer route around Africa. War-risk insurance can be added as a service: tick it under the price, or request a passage for any tanker below.
- Share of our routes
- 30% of the 12,561 port pairs we price pass the Bab el-Mandeb on the shortest route (3,792).
Extra war-risk insurance and an armed security team for any tanker, with or without a cargo from us.
Request a passageSign-in needed.
Buying a cargo from us? Tick the service under the price in the calculator.
Figures and limits2
| Item | Value | Conditions | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| oil flow 1H25 | 4.2 (crude 2.4 / products 1.8) mb/d | 1H25 | EIA World Oil Transit Chokepoints (updated 2026-03-03; flows from Vortexa) (B) | |
| security | Houthi attacks on shipping since Nov 2023; tanker transits 8.0–8.6/day Aug–Oct 2026 vs 13.8–15.0 Feb–Jun 2026 | JWC listed area (JWLA-034) | 2026 | IMF PortWatch chokepoints database (B) |
Suez Canal
Links the Mediterranean with the Red Sea: 4.9 million barrels a day in the first half of 2025, counting the SUMED pipeline. Loaded ships may draw up to 66 ft (20.1 m) if their beam is at most 50 m; wider ships follow the canal authority's draught-by-beam table. Ships sail in two convoys a day, so a wait of up to a day is normal, and since 15 July 2026 crude tankers pay a temporary surcharge of 37 % laden and 27 % in ballast. The SUMED pipeline, 2.5 million barrels a day, lets the largest tankers skip the canal.
- In our quotes
- Canal dues sized to the tanker, for the laden transit and the ballast return, and 1 day of transit time. The quote also shows a route that avoids Suez and the Red Sea.
- Share of our routes
- 32% of the 12,561 port pairs we price pass the Suez Canal on the shortest route (3,970).
Turkish Straits
The Bosporus and the Dardanelles join the Black Sea to the Mediterranean; 3.7 million barrels a day passed the Dardanelles in the first half of 2025. The Bosporus is 17 nm long and narrows to under half a mile. Tankers of 200 m or longer pass it in daylight only, pilots and escort tugs are strongly recommended, and strong currents close the strait to tankers.
- In our quotes
- About $25,000 per strait for escort tugs, pilotage and dues, four passages on a Black Sea round voyage, and 0.7 days of transit time.
- Share of our routes
- 10% of the 12,561 port pairs we price pass the Turkish Straits on the shortest route (1,208).
Panama Canal
Since 28 September 2026 the Neopanamax locks take ships of up to 14.94 m (49 ft) draught, 370 m long and 51.25 m wide. The canal offers 33 transit slots a day, 10 of them Neopanamax, and in September 2026 ships spent about 38 hours in canal waters. It carried 2.3 million barrels a day in fiscal 2025, almost all of it products.
- In our quotes
- Tolls by size band for the laden transit and the ballast return, and 1.6 days of transit time. The quote also shows a route that avoids the canal.
- Share of our routes
- 7% of the 12,561 port pairs we price pass the Panama Canal on the shortest route (845).
Strait of Malacca and Singapore Strait
The shortest route between the Indian Ocean and East Asia and the largest oil flow of any chokepoint: 23.2 million barrels a day in the first half of 2025. Deep-draught ships and VLCCs must keep 3.5 m of water under the keel through the whole passage and slow to 12 knots in places. Going through the Sunda Strait adds about 625 nm between Ras Tanura and Ningbo; through Lombok and Makassar, about 1,237 nm.
- In our quotes
- No fee; 0.1 days of transit time.
- Share of our routes
- 17% of the 12,561 port pairs we price pass the Strait of Malacca on the shortest route (2,127).
Danish Straits
The Baltic Sea's outlet, used by tankers from Russian, Finnish and Polish ports: 4.9 million barrels a day in the first half of 2025. Deep-draught ships take Route T through the Great Belt, about 17 m deep at best and up to 2 m less at times. No official maximum draught is published, and a pilot is recommended from 11 m. The Kiel Canal shortcut takes only small tankers.
- In our quotes
- No fee and no extra time. Quotes do not yet apply the Route T draught limit.
Strait of Gibraltar
The Atlantic entrance to the Mediterranean, with no restriction on ship size.
- In our quotes
- No fee and no extra time.
- Share of our routes
- 34% of the 12,561 port pairs we price pass the Strait of Gibraltar on the shortest route (4,247).
Cape of Good Hope
The open-ocean route around Africa: 9.1 million barrels a day in the first half of 2025, with no restriction on ship size. Ships take it when they avoid Suez and the Red Sea.
- In our quotes
- No fee and no extra time.
- Share of our routes
- 12% of the 12,561 port pairs we price pass the Cape of Good Hope on the shortest route (1,491).
Sunda and Lombok Straits
Indonesian straits that bypass Malacca. Lombok is the deep-water alternative for VLCCs. Depth limits for deep-draught tankers in either strait are not verified yet.
- In our quotes
- No fee and no extra time.
- Share of our routes
- 4% of the 12,561 port pairs we price pass the Sunda Strait on the shortest route (557).