Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 08/2011

Safety of Navigation in the Straits of Malacca

Mansoureh Arshad, Mohd Arshad

September 2010

Maritime Institute of Malaysia

Abstract

Well-recognized as a critical waterway in the world, the Straits of Malacca has seen a tremendous increase in traffic movements as ship operators seek the shortest route to destinations between Europe and the Far East. In 2009 alone there were over 76,000 ship movements in the Straits not including the 30,000 crisscrossing between the littoral states. These huge numbers require constant monitoring and management as any incident would have tremendous impact not only on international traffic and its economic implications to shipper states, but also to the lifelines of the communities straddling this key waterway.