The closure of the Strait of Hormuz at the beginning of March 2026 threw into sharp focus the importance of a small number of narrow marine waterways to the global economy. These strategic waterways are termed “chokepoints”. Overall, 50% of maritime trade, 90% of seaborne oil and 20% of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) flow through just seven chokepoints. See Footnote 1 for a complete list.

The Strait of Hormuz is one such chokepoint. It is roughly 100 miles long and varies in width from 21 to 60 miles, narrowing down to a 2-mile-wide navigable shipping lane. See Picture 1 and Picture 2.

Definition Maritime chokepoints are defined as critical points along transport routes that facilitate the passage of substantial trade volumes, and serve as vital arteries for global commerce, connecting important regions worldwide.

The Strait is important because it is a multicommodity industrial corridor, linking Gulf energy and chemical production to global markets. Around 120–140 vessels pass through the Strait on a normal day, which equates to a weekly flow of over 140 million barrels of oil, 10 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas and large quantities of ammonia and urea, as shown below.

The Strait of Hormuz carries approximately:

• 20% of global oil supplies.
• 20% of global liquid petroleum gas (LPG).
• 30–35% of global urea stocks for fertiliser production.
• 20–25% of ammonia, which is crucial for fertiliser production.
• 50% of global sulphur.
• 33% of helium used in a range of industrial processes.
  

The reason why this is important is because these materials sit at the base of multiple industrial supply chains, e.g. jet fuel, petrol/diesel, plastics, synthetic fibres, fertilisers, semiconductors, medical technology.

Any disruption to the flows of these commodities affects not just energy markets and prices, but has a knock-on impact on agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, high-technology manufacturing, healthcare, research sectors and consumer goods production.

So, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz created a global economic crisis which threatened two key economic areas: global energy security and global food security.

Although Asia and the Indian subcontinent were at highest risk from disruptions to their supply chains, the closure created ripple effects around the world in terms of commodity shortages, higher energy costs, such as petrol and jet fuel, and higher insurance premiums for shipping companies.

Globalisation relies on an efficient web of maritime transport that moves goods as cheaply as possible. To reduce the need for storage and lower costs, modern globalisation relies on “Just in Time” supply chains. See Footnote 2. These in turn require a continuous supply of energy resources, components and raw materials. However, if a chokepoint becomes blocked, the impact is global and immediate.

Although a 60-day truce has been agreed, it is by no means certain either side will adhere to it. Add to that Iran’s continuing threat to impose tolls on ships coming and going, and the situation is far from certain.

The first priority of the shipping companies will be to get their vessels out onto the open sea and to get oil, gas and urea moving again. However, given the uncertainty, whether those companies and marine insurers will be willing to send ships back into the Gulf is open to question.

Already, oil and gas producers and the major shipping companies have been searching for alternative options. There are a number:

1. Expanding flows of oil along existing pipelines: the east-west pipeline in Saudi Arabia and the pipeline to Fujairah from the UAE. However, capacity is limited and won’t solve the problem.
2. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is fast-tracking a second massive crude oil pipeline to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, which is said to be 50% complete. See Picture 3.
3. There are plans for Qatar to develop gas pipelines from Qatar to Turkey via Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria, as well as developing overland routes via Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and Egypt.

It has long been accepted that marine chokepoints are open to all. The Iranian government has chosen to leverage the unique geography of the Strait of Hormuz to challenge this orthodoxy by closing the Strait of Hormuz and, in doing so, hold the global economy to ransom. This sets a dangerous precedent and cannot be allowed to go unchallenged.

For now, this threat has passed. However, should Iran attempt to reinstate a blockade, it won’t be allowed to go unchallenged, and would likely instigate renewed conflict in the region. Plus, it sets a dangerous precedent for the other global chokepoints.

The other question is whether countries will finally seek to reduce their reliance on oil and gas from the Gulf. There is already evidence that Europe, the UK and the USA are diversifying energy imports.

However, will the current crisis result in a move away from fossil fuels altogether? Even the Gulf states are fast-tracking export models centred on green electricity and hydrogen fuel production. The irony might be that the current conflict has “supercharged” global commitments to green energy, not necessarily out of concern for climate change, but rather the need to ensure energy security for the future.

• Al Ketbi. (2026) The Strait of Hormuz: Geography at the Core of Global Economic Security. Emirates Policy Centre, March 2026.
• Knipp, D. W. (2026) The Geopolitical Weaponisation of Shipping Channels. In Focus, May 2026.
• Institute of Geoeconomics. (2026) The Geopolitics of Ports and Pipelines: The Case of the Strait of Hormuz – The Struggle Over Chokepoints. April 2026.
• Merkel. (2026) The Strait of Hormuz and the Power of Chokepoints. Geopolitical Monitor, April 2026.

The primary chokepoints are:

• The Strait of Hormuz.
• The Straits of Malacca.
• The Suez Canal.
• The Panama Canal.
• Bab El Mandeb, the southern exit from the Red Sea.
• The Strait of Gibraltar.
• The Turkish Straits.

Just in Time supply chains are an inventory strategy where materials and goods are received from suppliers exactly when needed for production or customer demand. The goal is to minimise on-hand stock to reduce holding costs and eliminate waste.