Ever wonder what the busiest shipping lanes in the world are, those watery corridors of commerce that are so important to the lifeblood of the global economy? Although almost everyone has seen a port full of huge ships carrying containers, most people are actually not aware of what routes ships take when transporting goods around the world. Much like airplanes and trucks, transport vessels must also follow certain lanes in order to avoid chaos and accidents in the open sea. For firms such as the ones listed in our article on the ocean’s 10 biggest shipping companies, these routes are also important so that exact shipping time calculations can be made.
Hence, the busiest shipping lanes are very important to international trade, due to the amount of goods transported along these imaginary roads in the sea. In this sense we can anticipate the location of certain shipping lanes that might be fairly important, such as straits connecting important countries, or canals where ships can leave one ocean and enter another. The Panama Canal is probably the most famous case of a crucial connecting point between two oceans, yet it is not the only shipping lane that is of critical importance to international trade. The busiest shipping lanes are distributed around the world, connecting the global economy through a series of bodies of water.
Since container shipping is not only lucrative but also highly efficient, thanks to the large amount of goods that can be transported on a single vessel, shipping lanes are as busy as ever. The low cost and the higher degree of safety compared to transportation by land, has led to an increased number of commercial fleets over the past few decades. If you wish to find out more about where these fleets operate, the following list of the ten busiest shipping lanes is bound to peak your interest.
10. Cook Strait
Located between the two main islands that comprise New Zealand, the Cook Straight is a very useful, albeit dangerous shipping lane. The danger arises from the unpredictable waters, yet the benefits of trading between the islands are simply too big to ignore.
9. Strait of Georgia
The Strait of Georgia is located along the coast of British Columbia and connects the mainland of Canada’s westernmost province to Vancouver Island in the Pacific Ocean. The shipping lane has a huge extension and is favored due to its very deep waters.
8. The Bosphorus
Serving as a boundary between Europe and Asia and connecting the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus is the world’s narrowest strait. Although it is not the safest route due to its shallow waters, this shipping lane is one of the busiest in the world.
7. Strait of Gibraltar
Connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, the Strait of Gibraltar is surely one of the most used shipping routes in the world. Hundreds of ships pass through this narrow lane everyday, which makes life so much easier for cargo ships.
Six of the busiest shipping lanes in the world are left, and we’ll travel them all on the next pages.
6. Strait of Florida
Serving as the main connection between the United States and all points to the south and west, the Strait of Florida is very busy. This shipping lane allows ships to pass from the Atlantic Ocean into the Gulf of Mexico, thus catering to the Caribbean and Central America.
5. Strait of Magellan
The Strait of Magellan used to be the only way to get from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, although it meant traveling all the way to the south of the South American continent. Despite being very difficult to navigate due to its unpredictable currents, this shipping lane still sees a lot of traffic.
4. Strait of Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz is not only one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, it is also one of the most essential ones, due to the amount of oil tankers that navigate these waters on a daily basis. Around one third of the world’s oil is transported through this strait, making it essential not only for trade, but for the global economy as a whole.
3. English Channel
Serving as a shipping lane for over 300 years, the English Channel has become one of the most important waterways in the world. Around 500 ships navigate this passage on a daily basis, making it one the busiest in the world.
2. The Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is the main crossing point between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, making it one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. Thanks to the construction of this canal, vessels no longer have to navigate all across the Southern Cone in order to cross between oceans, making it a highly valuable piece of infrastructure.
1. Strait of Dover
This is probably the busiest shipping lane in the world, as an immense amount of traffic passes through this strait on a daily basis. Connecting the Baltic and North Seas, the Strait of Dover is located on the narrowest part of the English Channel, which means dealing with the heavy traffic entails a lot of safety measures.
