Chokepoints
Maritime chokepoint· Chokepoints · Planetary chokepoint

Mozambique Channel

Mozambique / Madagascar19.50°S 40.50°E
computed criticality28/100
reading
Cape route: ≈11% of seaborne oil (2025); supertankers too large for a laden Suez transit
2024
Fault line

The largest tankers, too wide for the Suez Canal, round Africa through the Mozambique Channel: a major share of Gulf crude to the Atlantic transits there. Some 1,600 km long, exposed to cyclones and to resurgent piracy, this little-known corridor doubles in importance with every Red Sea tension. The Rovuma gas discoveries also make it a future energy stake.

Actors
Oil tanker owners (VLCC)
TotalEnergies, Mozambique LNG (Rovuma)
Sources