Strait of Malacca

Follow Strait of MalaccaAlerts when its risks move. Free.

Closing the Strait of Malacca causes delay, not loss: ships go by Lombok and Makassar, about 3 days longer. Illustrative arithmetic on stated assumptions; not a forecast; not advice. Illustrative arithmetic on stated assumptions; it does not say whether, when or for how long a strait will close.

This page answers: Who depends on this strait, who runs short first if it closes, and what is there to watch?

Using this page
  1. Read the short version: the register box, the figures and who runs short first.
  2. Open a scenario case for the worked arithmetic behind each day.
  3. Choose Full analyst view for the tools, the sources and the method.
  • Forecast No forecast on this strait yet.
  • Oil through it 22.5 mb/dSource [1] 2024 average
  • Reviewed
Link to this page

Forecasts in our register

No forecast on this strait yet. The forecast register

Our register asks no question about this strait. The scenario cases show stated assumptions, not forecasts.

The strait in figures

Oil (crude and products), yearly average (2024)
22.5 mb/dSource [1]
Crude oil, yearly average (2024)
15.9 mb/dSource [1]
Refined products, yearly average (2024)
6.6 mb/dSource [1]
LNG, yearly average (2024)
10.1 Bcf/dSource [1]
Oil (crude and products), latest quarter on file (2Q 2026)
16.6 mb/dSource [2]
Crude oil, latest quarter on file (2Q 2026)
11.4 mb/dSource [2]
Refined products, latest quarter on file (2Q 2026)
5.2 mb/dSource [2]
LNG, latest quarter on file (2Q 2026)
5.5 Bcf/dSource [2]

As published, each with its source and period: the most recent full year and the most recent quarter on file. Every year on file is under Traffic and prices in the full analyst view.

Who depends on it

Buyers whose supply of each good passes the strait on its modelled main route, as the network records list them; the five goods with the most records. The EU (27) is a bloc, on the switch, never added to its members. Volumes and sources in the Network map.

If it closes

Who runs short first

Case: Strait of Malacca closed for 14 days. For each country, the day on file when its supply shortfall begins, or, where nothing runs short, when its late-arrival gap begins.

Nothing on file runs short in this case: cargo arrives late, and late is never added to lost. The 24 countries on file are listed by the day their late-arrival gap begins.

  1. EU (27) late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Aluminium, Ammonia, Helium, Phosphates

  2. Bangladesh late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · LNG, Polyethylene and polypropylene, Wheat

  3. British Indian Ocean Territory late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Coal

  4. Burundi late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Wheat

  5. Canada late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Aluminium, Refined fuels, Rice, Urea and nitrogen fertilisers

  6. China late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Crude oil, LNG

  7. France late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Aluminium, Helium, Phosphates, Polyethylene and polypropylene

    Inside the EU (27) figure: shown, never added to it or to a total
  8. Germany late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Aluminium, Ammonia, Helium, Methanol

    Inside the EU (27) figure: shown, never added to it or to a total
  9. India late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Coal, Crude oil, LNG, LPG

Show all 24
  1. Japan late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Aluminium, Coal, Crude oil, Helium

  2. Kenya late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Coal, Refined fuels, Wheat

  3. Malawi late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Wheat

  4. Maldives late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Refined fuels, Sulphur

  5. Mozambique late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Refined fuels, Wheat

  6. Nepal late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Wheat

  7. Oman late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Polyethylene and polypropylene, Refined fuels, Wheat

    Seller
  8. Pakistan late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Coal, Crude oil, Refined fuels

  9. Rwanda late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Wheat

  10. South Korea late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Crude oil

  11. Sri Lanka late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Wheat

  12. Tanzania late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Wheat

  13. Uganda late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Wheat

  14. United Arab Emirates late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Coal, LNG, Polyethylene and polypropylene, Refined fuels

    Seller
  15. United States late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · LNG, Refined fuels

  16. Zimbabwe late-arrival gap begins: day 0

    late-arrival gap: cargo still at sea, arrives late; not a loss · Wheat

Days as on file in the precomputed case “Strait of Malacca closed for 14 days” (Strature network pack, engine 1.2.2, the network map’s default settings). Day 0 is the first day of the closure; the shaded part of each line is the closure (14 days); each line runs to day 14.

Illustrative arithmetic on stated assumptions; not a forecast; not advice. Illustrative arithmetic on stated assumptions; it does not say whether, when or for how long a strait will close.

The Stock Clock in the Network map: clocks, lanes and a table

What to watch

  • Monthly Crude and LNG imports by origin in China, Japan and South Korea.
  • Quarterly Malaysia's petroleum statistics: crude imports by origin.
  • Monthly Joint War Committee circulars: whether the Strait of Malacca becomes a listed area.
  • Monthly Berthing waits at the region's ports.

Questions firms in this position often review

  • Which of our cargoes cross the Strait of Malacca, and could they go by Lombok or Makassar instead?
  • What do a few extra days at sea do to our stock cover and our delivery dates?
  • Which of our suppliers depend on the same strait as we do?

General research, not advice. Request a free pilot

In preparation

The Atlas tool and the briefing exist for the Strait of Hormuz only; for this strait they are in preparation.

Full analyst view

Scenario cases

  • Strait of Malacca closed for 14 days

    In short Closing the Strait of Malacca causes delay, not loss: ships go by Lombok and Makassar, about 3 days longer. Illustrative arithmetic on stated assumptions; not a forecast; not advice. Illustrative arithmetic on stated assumptions; it does not say whether, when or for how long a strait will close.

    No forecast on this strait yet.

Every scenario case

Open in the Network map

The Strait of Malacca in the Network map

Suppliers, the strait and buyers on one map, good by good, with the Stock Clock.

Traffic and prices

Traffic through the strait, yearly averages
YearOilLNG
201616 mb/dSource [3]–
202022.8 mb/dSource [4]7.4 Bcf/dSource [5]
202122.1 mb/dSource [6]8.9 Bcf/dSource [6]
202223 mb/dSource [7]8.3 Bcf/dSource [7]
202324 mb/dSource [8]9.4 Bcf/dSource [8]
202422.5 mb/dSource [1]10.1 Bcf/dSource [1]
1H 202523.2 mb/dSource [9]9.2 Bcf/dSource [9]
1Q 202522.3 mb/dSource [10]9.1 Bcf/dSource [10]
2Q 202523.8 mb/dSource [10]9.5 Bcf/dSource [10]
3Q 202523.4 mb/dSource [10]8.9 Bcf/dSource [10]
4Q 202524 mb/dSource [10]10.1 Bcf/dSource [10]
1Q 202621.3 mb/dSource [2]8.3 Bcf/dSource [2]
2Q 202616.6 mb/dSource [2]5.5 Bcf/dSource [2]

Briefs on this strait

No brief on this strait yet. The library

Method

Every figure on this page carries its source, its year and a link; figures from 2023 or older carry an amber mark. Route shares are modelled estimates on cited figures. The days in “Who runs short first” are read from the precomputed cases the network map and the scenario pages use; nothing is added across goods, late cargo is never added to lost cargo, and the EU (27) is never added to its members. The forecast box shows our register’s words and estimates unchanged, each scored when it resolves.

Sources and licences

  1. [1] EIA (Vortexa data), 2024
  2. [2] EIA, 2026
  3. [3] EIA (Vortexa data), 2016 2023 or older
  4. [4] EIA, based on Vortexa, 2020 2023 or older
  5. [5] EIA (Vortexa data), 2020 2023 or older
  6. [6] EIA (Vortexa data), 2021 2023 or older
  7. [7] EIA (Vortexa data), 2022 2023 or older
  8. [8] EIA (Vortexa data), 2023 2023 or older
  9. [9] EIA (Vortexa data), 2025
  10. [10] EIA, 2025

Cite this page Strature, “Strait of Malacca”, Strature GPS, https://strature.net/gps/chokepoints/malacca/, 31 Oct 2026.