Cross-section Chokepoints, Antifragile

View on the map →IF method →Read from surface (top) to matter (bottom). Hover a node to reveal what it depends on.

0Control points4

●ZPMC, port cranes, Changxing Island

≈70% of the world market for quay cranes; ≈80% of the cranes in US ports

Critical node· ZPMC (Shanghai, Changxing Island)↑ Shanghai, Singapore, Rotterdam

●Shipbuilding, China · Korea · Japan

≈95% of world merchant tonnage delivered; China alone ≈55% (2024)

Critical node· CSSC (Shanghai)↑ Taiwan Strait, Cable ships

●Cable layers, SubCom · ASN · NEC · HMN

≈87% of the market for SubCom + ASN + NEC; ≈10–11% for HMN Tech

Critical node· SubCom (Eatontown, NJ)↑ Cables

●Global fleet of cable ships

≈60–65 cable ships in service; average repair ≈40 days

Dependency· Orange Marine (Brest, La Seyne)↑ Cables

−IFlow hubs6

◆Port of Shanghai, Yangshan

51.5 M TEU in 2024, world's leading port, 15th consecutive year

Critical node· SIPG, Shanghai International Port Group (Shanghai)

◆Port of Singapore, PSA

41.1 M TEU in 2024, world's leading transshipment hub

Critical node· PSA International (Singapore)

◆Port of Rotterdam, Maasvlakte

13.8 M TEU in 2024, Europe's leading port

Critical node· Port of Rotterdam Authority (Rotterdam)

●Container carriers (MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM)

MSC ≈ 20 % of the world container fleet, Maersk ≈ 14 %, CMA CGM ≈ 12 % ; top 3 > 45 % of capacity

Critical node· MSC

◆Cable landing, Marseille

Landing point for about fifteen Europe-Africa-Asia cables

Maritime chokepoint

◆Lobito Corridor

Copper and cobalt from the DRC and Zambia to the Atlantic

Maritime chokepoint

−IIGeographic chokepoints20

◆Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan

≈1.37 Gt of cargo, world's No. 1 (2024)

Critical node· Ningbo Zhoushan Port Group

◆Los Angeles / Long Beach (San Pedro Bay)

≈19.9M TEU, top US gateway (2024)

Critical node· Port of Los Angeles

◆Port of Antwerp-Bruges

278 Mt; Europe's largest chemical hub (2024)

Critical node· Port of Antwerp-Bruges

◆Port of Busan

24.4M TEU; No. 2 transshipment hub (2024)

Critical node· Busan Port Authority

◆Hong Kong Airport (cargo)

4.9 Mt of cargo, world's No. 1 (2024)

Critical node· Airport Authority Hong Kong

◆FedEx SuperHub, Memphis

≈3.75 Mt; FedEx ≈95% of tonnage (2024)

Critical node· FedEx Express

◆Bosphorus and Dardanelles

The Black Sea's only exit: grain and Russian oil

Maritime chokepoint

◆Egypt cable corridor, Zafarana / Ras Ghareb

>90% of Europe–Asia data traffic; ≈17% of world internet traffic

Maritime chokepoint· Telecom Egypt (Cairo)↑ Marseille cables

◆Strait of Hormuz

≈20% of global liquid oil consumption

Maritime chokepoint

◆Strait of Malacca

≈24% of all global maritime trade

Maritime chokepoint↑ Singapore, Taiwan Strait

◆Suez Canal

≈10–12% of maritime trade · ≈22% of containers

Maritime chokepoint↑ Rotterdam, Egypt

◆Panama Canal

≈2.5–3% of global maritime trade

Maritime chokepoint

◆Bab-el-Mandeb

Southern gate of the Red Sea

Maritime chokepoint↑ Egypt

◆Taiwan Strait

≈20% of the world container fleet passes through

Maritime chokepoint↑ Shanghai

◆Cape of Good Hope

Suez reroute, 10 to 14 extra days at sea

Maritime chokepoint

◆Mozambique Channel

Cape route: ≈11% of seaborne oil (2025); supertankers too large for a laden Suez transit

Maritime chokepoint· Oil tanker owners (VLCC)

◆Strait of Gibraltar

Mediterranean-Atlantic gate, = 100,000 ships/year

Maritime chokepoint

◆Baltic Sea, infrastructure sabotage zone

≈10 cables and gas pipelines damaged between October 2023 and 2025

Dependency· Cinia, C-Lion1 (Helsinki)

◆Port of Mundra (Adani, India)

≈200 Mt of freight in 2024-25, India's largest commercial port (Adani)

Dependency· Adani Ports (APSEZ)

◆Northern Sea Route, Russian Arctic

≈38 Mt of freight in 2024; 8 nuclear icebreakers in service, all Russian

Redundancy· Rosatomflot (Murmansk)↑ Suez

−IIIPhysical infrastructure3

◆Global network of submarine cables

≈570 active cables, ≈1.5 M km; ≈95–99% of intercontinental traffic

Critical node· Google (Mountain View)↑ Egypt, Baltic

◆Subsea interconnectors, Norway & North Sea

NordLink & North Sea Link (2 × 1,400 MW); 8,800 km subsea gas network

Critical node· Statnett (Oslo)↑ Baltic

◆Druzhba pipeline

The world's longest oil pipeline, Russian crude to Central Europe

Maritime chokepoint