Indo-Pacific: The Highways of the World’s Oceans – the Strait of Malacca

The archipelagos of South-East Asia lie between the vast expanses of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. They stretch like a barrier close to the equator, from Malaysia in the west to Papua New Guinea in the east. Those travelling under their own steam will, in most cases, choose a route through the region – via secondary seas such as the Arafura Sea, the Java Sea, the Celebes Sea, the Andaman Sea or the South China Sea.

The Strait of Malacca

All these routes have one thing in common: they converge at a bottleneck – the Strait of Malacca. This is the name of the strait, just under 1,000 kilometres (or around 500 nautical miles) long, which separates the Indonesian island of Sumatra from the Malay Peninsula. This means that a large proportion of global maritime trade must also pass through this narrow strait. And then there’s all the other traffic, especially at night. How much space is left for a sailing yacht?

The two parts of the report

• Strait of Malacca: Part 1 – Singapore and the South
• Strait of Malacca: Part 2 – Kuala Lumpur and the North

Through the eye of the needle

The narrowest part of the route is bounded by the two metropolises of Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, each with a population of over a million. Over the approximately 180 nautical miles between the two port cities, the Strait of Malacca is, on average, no wider than 30 to 40 nautical miles. It is also in this section that shipping traffic on the route between East Asia, India and Europe converges. A truly exciting area for a sailing yacht!

Weather

From November to March, the north-easterly monsoon prevails, bringing rain, thunderstorms and often poor visibility; from May to September, the south-westerly monsoon brings better conditions. Severe regional thunderstorms, which often develop over Sumatra, are always a possibility.

Navigation

There is a great deal of heavy shipping traffic in the area. Several consecutive traffic separation schemes have been designated for this traffic between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Navigation is therefore challenging, although the official nautical charts available are fairly accurate.

At night, the voyage can be extremely challenging at times due to the large number of fishing vessels, many of which are unmarked or even unlit. These vessels are also rarely fitted with AIS. Navigating very close to the coast is not recommended due to the fixed nets.

Safety

Piracy, on the other hand, is no longer an issue in this area. Set nets, large pieces of flotsam and unlit fishing vessels are the main hazards.

​The two parts of the report:

• Strait of Malacca: Part 1 – Singapore and the South
• Strait of Malacca: Part 2 – Kuala Lumpur and the North