Important Maritime passages in the world - Part 1

This is the part one of the article which explains about the various important Maritime passages and how these passages contribute to world trade.

. Panama Canal - It is man-made canal which extends over 44 nautical miles. Panama canal connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. The construction of Panama canal was started by France in 1881 and then completed by USA in 1914. The construction of Panama canal was complicated because locks were needed to rise and lower the water-level. The ships are rised to the Level of Gatun lake( 26 m above the sea level) and lowered from Gatun lake level to the sea-level as required. This passage is really important to international trade since it is the shortest distance connecting Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. This canal helps the ships to avoid the long route around the Cape horn , which is a hazardous route. There are limitations in entrance according to the size of ships that the locks can fit in. There are three sets of lock , two sets bulit earlier and the third one built in 2016. 

. Suez canal : Suez canal is an artificial sea-level canal of 104 nautical mile located in Egypt. This canal connects the Mediterranean sea and the Red sea. In 1869 it was opened and then it was a single lane canal ,which limited the traffic to one side( either north or south). Suez canal is one of the busiest maritime passages through which 47 to 97 vessels pass daily. This canal offered a much more direct route between the North Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions. Otherwise the vessels would have travelled through a route going around the southern tip of africa, which is of larger distance. 

. Straits of Gibraltar :  It is a narrow strait connecting the Mediterranean sea and the Atlantic Ocean. This strait separates peninsular Spain and Africa. The narrowest point in the strait have a width of 7.7 nautical miles. Straits of Gibraltar is a very important passage which converges all the ships passing from Mediterranean to Atlantic Ocean and vice versa.

. Straits of Malacca : It is the longest strait in the world used by ships. It is situated between Malay Peninsula and Sumatra island. This passage enhance trade between Asia and Europe through which more than 600 vessels are passing daily.

Straits of Malacca is 430 nautical miles long and have a minimum depth of 26 metres.

. Straits of Hormuz : It is situated between southern part of Iran and northern point of UAE. This strait is very important as, it is the only passages to and from Persian gulf to the Indian Ocean through the gulf of Oman. This passage is really important to maritime world as Persian gulf has extensive oil fields. 3.2 miles wide channel is open to vessels but really it is 42 nautical miles wide.