Location of the Malacca Strait on the world map. Where is and what connects the Straits of Malacca

The Malacca Strait (Malay Ave.) runs between large parts of the land - the Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra. It is the oldest sea route between China and India.

Where is the Malacca Strait

Located in South-East Asia, it shares the Malacca (Malay) peninsula with the island of Sumatra.

The Strait of Malacca connects the Indian and Pacific Oceans (the 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 the islands belong to the Kingdom of Thailand. All the rest of the coast belongs to Malaysia, and the island of Sumatra - Indonesia. The largest islands of the Strait of Malacca are Phuket, Penang, Langkawi.

origin of name

The name of the strait was most likely from the Malacca Sultanate, whose authority was widespread here. Although this influence lasted less than a century - from 1414 to 1511 years. According to another theory, the name originated from the port of Melaka, now it is the city of Malacca in Malaysia.

Pages of History

When the Europeans first visited here, they were amazed at the extent to which the ports of the Strait of Malacca were developed. They were in no way inferior to those in Europe, both in terms of trading activity and in the quantity and quality of the shipyards. In 1511, the Portuguese established their authority here, until the middle of the 16th century they controlled the strait, not letting the Malacca Sultanate come here. In the next century, the Dutch settled here. They were trying to overthrow the British (for which they were competitors). The forces were approximately the same, and the native 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 much this domination would last, if not for Napoleon's war, which at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries occupied Holland. England took advantage of the situation and seized the strait and its ports, including Singapore. In 1824, the Malacca Sultanate also began to enter the list of colonies of Great Britain, where it remained until 1957. If, of course, do not consider the occupation of Japan during the Second World War. Colonization led to the intensive development of this trade route. It 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 narrow enough, its width in some places reaches 3 kilometers, but long (1000 kilometers) and very important. Movement on it is complicated by the fact that it has many shallows, and here and there reefs are hidden. The meaning of the Strait of Malacca can be compared with the status of the Suez and Panama Canal. Here are the most important sea routes. If you look at the map, which oceans connect the Strait of Malacca, one can not help assessing its significance. This is the main link in several directions. Here there is a transport connection between three large states - Indonesia, India, China. In the year, the Malacca Strait crosses 50,000 ships of different purposes, the number of which sometimes reaches 900 per day. In addition, ferries are also used here. The Strait of Malacca is loaded as much as possible, transportation here provides 20-25 percent of sea trade. The transportation of oil from Iran and other countries of the Persian Gulf to China, Japan and many countries of East Asia. This is 11 million barrels per day and 25 percent of all transport of black gold. The needs of these countries are constantly growing, so 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, among other things, it was a political tool. Throughout history, the Strait has played a big 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 the governments of the countries of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia are forced to patrol the Strait of Malacca. The actions of criminals can stop world trade, for this it is enough to sink a large vessel in the shallowest place.

Another problem is smoke. Since wildfires often occur on the island of Sumatra, visibility decreases significantly from time to time. But it is very important for shipping.

Ecological problems

The Strait of Malacca is a very rich in flora and fauna of the world ocean. There are 36 different types of stony corals on reefs. Since a large number of tankers with oil pass daily in the strait, a great threat to the environment is created. The probability of a catastrophe is quite high, because some places in the strait are very narrow and dangerous. In Phillips Chenel, near the coast of Singapore, the width is barely 3 kilometers. And the probability of attacking pirates in general makes this unpredictable. In 1993, the Danish tanker drowned here, the consequences of this accident have not been completely eliminated. Another important factor is the smoke factor, since it affects visibility.

Offer to shorten the path

In Thailand, plans were developed to reduce the strain on the Straits of Malacca. One of the proposals was to cut the sea route through the strait due to the Krai isthmus. So it was possible to reduce the road by sea to 960 kilometers. So, among other things, it was possible to bypass the separatists of the moody Muslim province of Pattani. But the possibility of financial costs and the impact on the environment is on the way to 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 oil refineries in Malaysia. The pipeline will be 320 kilometers long and must connect two Malaysian states. Oil from the Middle East will be processed in factories, then pumped from Kedah to Kelantan. And from there, load on tankers and go through the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.