Strait of Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz /hrmuz/ Persian: Tangeh-ye Hormoz About
this sound listen (helpinfo), Arabic: Maq Hurmuz) is a strait
between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. It is the only sea
passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is one of the
world's most strategically important choke points. On the north
coast is Iran, and on the south coast is the United Arab Emirates
and Musandam, an exclave of Oman. At its narrowest, the strait is
29 nautical miles (54 km) wide.About 20% of the world's petroleum,
and about 35% of the petroleum traded by sea, passes through the
strait making it a highly important strategic location for
international trade
NavigationTo reduce the risk of collision, ships moving through
the Strait follow a Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS): inbound ships
use one lane, outbound ships another, each lane being two miles
wide. The lanes are separated by a two-mile-wide "median".
To traverse the Strait, ships pass through the territorial
waters of Iran and Oman under the transit passage provisions of the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Although not all
countries have ratified the convention,most countries, including
the U.S., accept these customary navigation rules as codified in
the Convention.
Oman has a radar site Link Quality Indicator (LQI) to monitor
the TSS in the Strait of Hormuz. This site is on a small island on
the peak of Musandam Peninsula.
Traffic statisticsAccording to the U.S. Energy Information
Administration, in the year 2011, an average of 14 tankers per day
passed out of the Persian Gulf through the Strait carrying 17
million barrels (2,700,000 m3) of crude oil. This was said to
represent 35% of the world's seaborne oil shipments and 20% of oil
traded worldwide. The report stated that more than 85% of these
crude oil exports went to Asian markets, with Japan, India, South
Korea and China the largest destinations.
A 2007 report from the Center for Strategic and International
Studies also stated that 17 million barrels passed out of the Gulf
daily, but that oil flows through the Strait accounted for roughly
40% of all world-traded oil
