Beyond Panama and Hormuz: 8 critical waterways under the global microscope

First, it was the Panama Canal, then came the Strait of Hormuz. What could be next?America’s actions in the two major shipping channels have grabbed headlines, and global attention is shifting to the strategic importance and potential risks of other critical trade waterways.Some of the chokepoints were examined in a US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) investigation in March last year of unfavourable shipping conditions, signalling America’s heightened focus on international routes and offering a glimpse of what else might be on its radar.Strait of Malacca and Singapore StraitConnecting the Indian and Pacific oceans, the two straits form a continuous corridor that is the world’s busiest route for crude oil and petroleum liquids in terms of barrels per day.