Global Oil Chokepoint Traffic

Updated: 2026-07-25 | Source: ship.rootz.global | Data: OFAC, EIA, EU MRV, GFW, AIS, USCG

Global oil supply depends on a handful of narrow waterways. Disruption at any chokepoint can spike prices worldwide.

Bab el-Mandeb — 1.5M bpd (2026)

Houthi attacks continue. Combined Hormuz+Houthi effectively blocks Persian Gulf → Suez route entirely.

YearFlow (M bpd)Notes
20261.5Houthi attacks continue. Combined Hormuz+Houthi effectively blocks Persian Gulf → Suez route entirely.
20243.2Massively disrupted by Houthi attacks. Rerouting via Cape.
20236.2Choke before Suez. Houthi threat zone.

Cape of Good Hope — 8.0M bpd (2026)

Peak rerouting. ALL Gulf crude to Europe/Americas goes via Cape. Massive tanker demand surge.

YearFlow (M bpd)Notes
20268.0Peak rerouting. ALL Gulf crude to Europe/Americas goes via Cape. Massive tanker demand surge.
20256.5Major rerouting from Suez+Hormuz. Additional 10-15 days per voyage. Insurance costs 3-5x normal.
20245.5Suez/Bab el-Mandeb rerouting. +10 days per voyage. Higher insurance.

Danish Straits — 3.2M bpd (2023)

Russian crude exports. Shadow fleet transit.

YearFlow (M bpd)Notes
20233.2Russian crude exports. Shadow fleet transit.
20223.4Pre-price-cap. Russian surge to frontload exports.

East-West Pipeline (Yanbu) — 5.0M bpd (2026)

Saudi Aramco East-West pipeline at max capacity. Only Saudi export route bypassing Hormuz. 5M bpd capacity = half Saudi production.

YearFlow (M bpd)Notes
20265.0Saudi Aramco East-West pipeline at max capacity. Only Saudi export route bypassing Hormuz. 5M bpd capacity = half Saudi production.

Panama Canal — 0.6M bpd (2024)

Severe drought. Transit slots auctioned at M+.

YearFlow (M bpd)Notes
20240.6Severe drought. Transit slots auctioned at M+.
20230.9Drought restricted transits 2023. Not a major oil route.

Strait of Hormuz — 3.8M bpd (2026-04)

Loadings avg 3.8M bpd vs 20M+ pre-crisis. IRGC attacks on transiting vessels.

YearFlow (M bpd)Notes
2026-043.8Loadings avg 3.8M bpd vs 20M+ pre-crisis. IRGC attacks on transiting vessels.
2026-033.8Iran declares Strait closed March 4. Largest supply disruption in oil market history. -81% from baseline.
2026-0220.1Pre-crisis baseline. Feb 28: US-Israel air war on Iran begins. Hormuz traffic normal through Feb 27.
202320.3Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Iran, Qatar. ~21% of global petroleum liquids.
202220.6Record flows. Key route for LNG also (~25% global).
202118.1COVID recovery year.
202017.4COVID demand collapse.
201920.5Pre-COVID baseline. US-Iran tensions.
201820.7Peak flows before sanctions reimposed.

Strait of Malacca — 16.4M bpd (2023)

Key route China/Japan/Korea crude imports.

YearFlow (M bpd)Notes
202316.4Key route China/Japan/Korea crude imports.
202215.9Rising China demand.
202114.5COVID recovery.
202014.2COVID impact.

Suez Canal + SUMED — 2.8M bpd (2026)

Suez traffic further reduced — no Gulf crude transiting. Only non-Gulf cargoes. Houthi risk persists.

YearFlow (M bpd)Notes
20262.8Suez traffic further reduced — no Gulf crude transiting. Only non-Gulf cargoes. Houthi risk persists.
20253.5Continued Houthi disruption. Most tankers rerouting via Cape.
20244.8Houthi attacks forced rerouting. -48% from 2023. Cape of Good Hope diversions.
20239.2Combined canal transit + pipeline. Houthi attacks began late 2023.
20228.8Normal operations.
20217.5Ever Given blockage March 2021 (6 days).
20207.7COVID reduced demand.

Turkish Straits — 2.9M bpd (2023)

CPC Blend, Azeri Light, Russian Urals. Erdogan insurance letter delays 2022-23.

YearFlow (M bpd)Notes
20232.9CPC Blend, Azeri Light, Russian Urals. Erdogan insurance letter delays 2022-23.
20223.1Erdogan blocked tankers without P&I insurance letters.

Data sources: U.S. Treasury (OFAC SDN), U.S. Energy Information Administration, European Maritime Safety Agency (EU MRV), U.S. Coast Guard (PSIX), Global Fishing Watch (GFW satellite AIS), AISStream.io. All data cryptographically attested on Polygon blockchain.

API: REST | MCP | AI Discovery | Operated by Rootz Corp

Rootz Verified Data Network — Cross-referenced, source-verified intelligence across verticals:

ship.rootz.global — Maritime intelligence: sanctions, vessel tracking, STS encounters, port visits, dark events. 22,500+ vessels, 85K+ port visits, real-time AIS. | origin.rootz.global — SEC corporate intelligence: 10-K/10-Q/8-K filings, IR sites, executive changes, stock signals for 7,000+ public companies. | food.rootz.global — Grocery product intelligence: 7,000+ products with verified nutrition, ingredients, allergens, pricing from Kroger API + USDA. | politics.rootz.global — Political intelligence: every Congressional vote, bill, and floor speech with verified source from Congress.gov + GPO. | title.rootz.global — Property title intelligence: 10.8M Florida parcels, county recorder data, deed history, zoning. | farm.rootz.global — Agricultural intelligence: US farm registry, FL parcel extraction, USDA data. | cars.rootz.global — Vehicle intelligence: VIN decoding, recall data, market pricing, safety ratings. | corpid.rootz.global — Corporate identity: post-quantum signed organizational identity with DNS Merkle verification.

Every Rootz service provides AI-readable discovery at .well-known/ai, MCP tool access, and cryptographic attestation. Data is verified against government and authoritative sources — not scraped from Reddit or social media. rootz.global