Dire straits: The handful of marine choke points holding Europe's economy hostage | Euronews

## Summary
Global shipping chokepoints Euronews Europe’s maritime choke points The European Union operates the world’s largest fleet, accounting for more than one-third of global shipping tonnage. A man walks along the shore as oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz seen from Khor Fakkan, 11 March, 2026 AP Photo The Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb strait The Suez Canal, which saves ships a 10,000-kilometre detour around Africa, demonstrated its fragility in March 2021 when the container ship Ever Given ran aground after high winds pushed it sideways. Ever Given, a Panama-flagged cargo ship blocks the Suez Canal almost a week after it got stuck sideways in the crucial waterway, 29 March, 2021 AP Photo The Strait of Malacca The Strait of Malacca is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, carrying trade that by some estimates represents around a third of global GDP, including a large share of EU trade: European imports of electronics, chemicals and oil products from Asia pass through it. The Dover Strait Closer to home, the narrow channel between Britain and France, linking Atlantic ports to those of the North Sea, makes part of a corridor of chokepoints that together carry around 15% of global maritime trade by value.

## Article Content
By&nbsp
Denis Loctier
Published on
18/03/2026 - 14:48 GMT+1
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Updated
14:54
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From the Persian Gulf to the English Channel, a small number of narrow waterways carry the vast bulk of what Europeans eat, buy, and heat their homes with. When one of them is threatened the consequences ripple everywhere.
When Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed after US-Israeli air strikes and began attacking commercial ships attempting to pass through, the effects were felt almost immediately. Not just in the Gulf, but in European homes and businesses thousands of kilometres away.
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The blockade severely disrupted one of the world's most critical shipping routes for oil, gas and chemicals, triggering a sharp energy price shock across Europe. Brent crude surged towards $100 (€86) per barrel, and Europe's wholesale gas benchmark jumped. For ordinary consumers, that translates directly into higher petrol prices, heftier heating bills and a fresh wave of inflation at a time when many households are already stretched.
The impact does not stop at energy. Around a third of global seaborne fertiliser trade passes through Hormuz, an essential supply that keeps European farms productive. Fertiliser shortages are now expected to push food prices higher still, adding another layer of pressure on European consumers.
This crisis is another reminder of a structural vulnerability that experts have long warned about: Europe's enormous economy largely depends on a handful of narrow sea passages that it neither controls nor, in many cases, can easily bypass.
Global shipping chokepoints
Euronews
Europe’s maritime choke points
The European Union operates the world’s largest fleet, accounting for more than one-third of global shipping tonnage. EU ports handle more than 3.4 billion tonnes of goods every year - roughly 74 per cent of everything that enters or leaves the bloc. Almost all of that trade flows, at some point, through one of a handful of strategic straits. Any disruption within them - whether caused by conflict, accident or political pressure - has an outsized impact on Europe’s commerce.
The Strait of Hormuz
Widely regarded as the world’s most critical energy choke point, Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean. Before the current crisis, around 20 million barrels of oil passed through it every day - roughly 25 per cent of all seaborne oil trade. It is also the exit route for liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar, which supplies around 13 per cent of European LNG imports.
A man walks along the shore as oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz seen from Khor Fakkan, 11 March, 2026
AP Photo
The Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb strait
The Suez Canal, which saves ships a 10,000-kilometre detour around Africa, demonstrated its fragility in March 2021 when the container ship Ever Given ran aground after high winds pushed it sideways. For six days, an estimated $10 billion (€8.6 billion) in trade was frozen every single day, as hundreds of vessels carrying livestock, furniture and car parts were left waiting.
But the canal itself depends on traffic passing safely through Bab el-Mandeb, the so-called “Gate of Tears” at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, which controls around 12% of total global seaborne trade.
Between 2023-2025, Houthi rebels in Yemen launched waves of drone and missile attacks on commercial vessels, targeting ships with perceived links to Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom. The impact was severe. Major shipping firms suspended Red Sea transits, container traffic through Suez fell sharply, and freight rates on the Shanghai-Rotterdam route increased several‑fold.
Delivery times for European importers lengthened by 10-14 days, before a fragile ceasefire in early 2025 allowed a partial return to normal.
Ever Given, a Panama-flagged cargo ship blocks the Suez Canal almost a week after it got stuck sideways in the crucial waterway, 29 March, 2021
AP Photo
The Strait of Malacca
The Strait of Malacca is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, carrying trade that by some estimates represents around a third of global GDP, including a large share of EU trade: European imports of electronics, chemicals and oil products from Asia pass through it. At its narrowest point the strait is less than three kilometres wide, making it prone to congestion, and there is a persistent - if rarely severe - risk from piracy.
The Dover Strait
Closer to home, the narrow channel between Britain and France, linking Atlantic ports to those of the North Sea, makes part of a corridor of chokepoints that together carry around 15% of global maritime trade by value. The Dover Strait became one of the most visible symbols of post-Brexit disruption, when new customs checks created queues, delays and higher costs for UK-EU goods traffic, from food shipments to car parts.
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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- Related Leaving NATO is something to 'think about,' Trump says after allies refuse to secure Hormuz strait Kallas says 'no appetite' to shift mandate of EU naval mission in the strait of Hormuz The Strait of Gibraltar At the western entrance to the Mediterranean, the Strait of Gibraltar is witnessing a notable shift in regional power.
- But the detour can add up to two weeks to a typical voyage, which reduces the effective capacity of the global fleet, pushes freight rates higher and increases carbon emissions by around a third on average.
- But it is controlled by Russia, an obvious geopolitical liability at present, and it still requires specialist ice-breaking vessels while lacking the port and service infrastructure needed to handle significant commercial volumes.
- For many other goods, air freight might seem like a more effective way of transportation.

### Areas for Consideration
- At its narrowest point the strait is less than three kilometres wide, making it prone to congestion, and there is a persistent - if rarely severe - risk from piracy.
- But it is controlled by Russia, an obvious geopolitical liability at present, and it still requires specialist ice-breaking vessels while lacking the port and service infrastructure needed to handle significant commercial volumes.
- The problem here is capacity.

### Implications
- The impact does not stop at energy.
- Any disruption within them - whether caused by conflict, accident or political pressure - has an outsized impact on Europe’s commerce.
- The impact was severe.
- That raises strategic questions about Europe’s growing reliance on non-EU infrastructure, as well as environmental concerns: some EU officials and analysts worry that Tanger Med could become an emissions-evading hub, where ships may bypass stricter European environmental standards.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers strait, hormuz, europe topics. Notable strengths include discussion of strait. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 1656.