Did you know? 90% of the goods are transported by the sea! According to that, sea transport is important for the global supply chain and for the global economy overall.
Containerization has influenced the development of maritime freight transport, and has become an irreplaceable form of goods transportation and greatly influenced the importance of maritime transport. Furthermore, containerization combines maritime transport with other forms of transport such as rail and road transport into one complete transport chain where the technological process has been evenly standardized. As in any business process, there are risks that can be analyzed with different models, evaluated, and finally accepted. Taking into account the size of the world's oceans, the complexity of the containerization process itself, as well as the importance of maritime trade, the risks in container traffic are not negligible and are largely subject to analysis and prediction, which leads to the search for solutions to overcome and ultimately reduce the risks.
Given the strategic and economic importance of maritime traffic, let's take a look at the five most important waterways for global trade at the moment and why they are often the targets of pirate attacks.
5. The Panama Canal
Artificial 82 kilometers waterway in Panama that connect Atlantic with Pacific Ocean. One of the largest and most difficult engineering project ever taken. Up to 14.000 ships use the canal each year, carrying around 286 million tons of cargo.

4. The Suez Canal
Artificial 193-kilometre-long canal in Egypt is a key trade route for the goods transport between Europe in Asia. Some people call it „the portal“ between East and West. Around 18.000 vessels crossed the canal in 2022.
Due to its importance, often affected by attacks on commercial ships causing them to reroute around South Africa which greatly affects lead time.
3. Strait of Hormuz
Annually, around 20.000 ships use this narrow channel between Iran and Oman. The strait is 167 kilometers long. A third of the world's liquefied natural gas and almost 25% of total global oil consumption passes through the strait, making it a highly important strategic location for international trade.
2. Malacca Strait
The primary trade route between Europe and Asia sees 84.000 ships per year. Located between the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest and the Malay Peninsula to the northeast.
One of the most important shipping lanes in the world, as around 25% of the world's traded goods is carried through the strait. For more info and interesting details about Malacca Strait, please check the video on the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDlRWyPoONc
1.English Channel (franc. La Manche)
560 kilometer long channel that separates southern England from northern France. This passage connects the North Sea with the Atlantic Ocean. The waterway is used by 400 vessels every day, which is 146.000 every year. The canal was a key factor in Great Britain becoming a maritime superpower. Also, this channel is not only important for maritime traffic, but also plays a major role in rail traffic. On May 6, 1994, the Eurotunnel was opened. A tunnel that connects Great Britain and continental Europe, namely Paris and Brussels with London, by rail. Currently, this tunnel is the longest undersea tunnel in the world. There are two options for using this railway transport: for the transport of passengers or "shuttle" services - the transport of vehicles by train on a special railway line.
Conclusion
Considering strategic importance and locations of mentioned channels, disruptions to shipping routes can have costly global repercussions. Severe drought has forced the Panama Canal to cut ship crossing by a third. In 2021, the container ship Ever Given blocked the traffic in Suez Canal for 6 days which lead to a cost of global trade of $6-10 USD billions.

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