Strait of Malacca

The Strait of Malacca runs about 900 kilometres between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, linking the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea and carrying a large share of the trade between the Middle East, India, and East Asia. Its narrowest navigable point near Singapore is only a few kilometres wide, and the controlling depth defines the Malaccamax ship size. Traffic uses a designated traffic separation scheme; congestion, shallow patches, and a history of piracy and armed robbery make it a closely watched chokepoint.