IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2023i1p384-d1311508.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Assessing the Importance of the Marine Chokepoint: Evidence from Tracking the Global Marine Traffic

Author

Listed:
  • Xue Wang

    (Center for World Geography and Geostrategic Studies, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
    Institute for Global Innovation & Development, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China)

  • Debin Du

    (Center for World Geography and Geostrategic Studies, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
    Institute for Global Innovation & Development, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China)

  • Yan Peng

    (Center for World Geography and Geostrategic Studies, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
    Institute for Global Innovation & Development, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China)

Abstract

The significance of international maritime chokepoints and the exploration of their safety and security are intricately linked to the expansion of the maritime economy, the maintenance of political and social stability, and the safeguarding of state interests. Limited efforts have been dedicated to comprehensively assessing the extent of chokepoints’ influence or establishing a global ranking of their importance using dependable maritime data. In light of the growing significance of oceans and seas in the realms of economy and society, there is a pressing need to afford heightened attention to the importance of chokepoints. In this paper, 15 critical chokepoints from around the world are studied, and the method of Location Quotient is used to calculate the influence of their radiation range utilizing the Automatic Identification System (AIS); this study charts the worldwide spatial and temporal dimensions of maritime transport spanning from 2012 to 2022. The conclusion of this study reveals the following key findings: (1) Maritime shipping trajectories exhibit fluctuating growth over time, with traffic hotspots predominantly located in continental border zones, gradually decreasing from the equator toward the poles; (2) The regions with active maritime traffic do not exhibit a positive correlation with the hotspots; instead, there is a pattern of “strong in the north, weak in the south, strong in the east, weak in the west”; (3) The Strait of Gibraltar and the Strait of Malacca are identified as the globally most strategically valuable straits for maritime shipping; (4) There is significant variation in the influence range of strategic passages, and countries with mutual dependencies may have competitive relationships.

Suggested Citation

  • Xue Wang & Debin Du & Yan Peng, 2023. "Assessing the Importance of the Marine Chokepoint: Evidence from Tracking the Global Marine Traffic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-17, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2023:i:1:p:384-:d:1311508
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/1/384/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/1/384/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Qu, Xiaobo & Meng, Qiang, 2012. "The economic importance of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore: An extreme-scenario analysis," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 258-265.
    2. Billings, Stephen B. & Johnson, Erik B., 2012. "The location quotient as an estimator of industrial concentration," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 642-647.
    3. Shepard, Jun U. & Pratson, Lincoln F., 2020. "Maritime piracy in the Strait of Hormuz and implications of energy export security," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pires, Jose Claudio Linhares & Cravo, Tulio & Lodato, Simon & Piza, Caio, 2013. "Industrial Clusters and Economic Performance in Brazil," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 4771, Inter-American Development Bank.
    2. Hanyu Lu & Lufei Huang, 2021. "Optimization of Shore Power Deployment in Green Ports Considering Government Subsidies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-14, February.
    3. Seungil Yum, 2019. "The interaction between knowledge-intensive business services and urban economy," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 63(1), pages 53-83, August.
    4. Zhi Heng & Tsz Leung Yip, 2018. "Impacts of Kra Canal and its toll structures on tanker traffic," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(1), pages 125-139, January.
    5. Wei Liu & Chenggu Li & Yao Tong & Jing Zhang & Zuopeng Ma, 2020. "The Places Children Go: Understanding Spatial Patterns and Formation Mechanism for Children’s Commercial Activity Space in Changchun City, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-20, February.
    6. Geoff Boeing, 2020. "Online rental housing market representation and the digital reproduction of urban inequality," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 52(2), pages 449-468, March.
    7. Xiaodong Zhang & Haoying Han & Yongjun Tang & Zhilu Chen, 2023. "Spatial Distribution Characteristics and Driving Factors of Tourism Resources in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-16, May.
    8. Chenxi Li & Kening Wu & Xiangyu Gao, 2020. "Manufacturing industry agglomeration and spatial clustering: Evidence from Hebei Province, China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 2941-2965, April.
    9. Xiaoxiao Hu & Ling He & Qi Cui, 2021. "How Do International Conflicts Impact China’s Energy Security and Economic Growth? A Case Study of the US Economic Sanctions on Iran," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-21, June.
    10. Dai, Tianran & Schiff, Nathan, 2023. "The structure and growth of ethnic neighborhoods," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    11. Tian, Zheng, 2013. "Measuring Agglomeration Using the Standardized Location Quotient with a Bootstrap Method," Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, vol. 43(2).
    12. Li Xiao & Shaoyang Chen & Shun Xiong & Peixin Qi & Tingting Wang & Yanwei Gong & Na Liu, 2022. "Security risk assessment and visualization study of key nodes of sea lanes: case studies on the Tsugaru Strait and the Makassar Strait," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 114(3), pages 2657-2681, December.
    13. Pi, Jianhua & Li, Dong & Liu, Xingjian & Freestone, Robert, 2021. "The spatial distribution of employment around major Chinese airports," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    14. Boris Abeli Pekarou Pemi & Donatien Njomo & René Tchinda & Jean Calvin Seutche & Armel Zambou Kenfack & Mahamat Hassane Babikir & Venant Sorel Chara-Dackou, 2024. "Sectoral Assessment of the Energy, Water, Waste and Land Nexus in the Sustainability of Agricultural Products in Cameroon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-29, January.
    15. Goerlandt, Floris & Islam, Samsul, 2021. "A Bayesian Network risk model for estimating coastal maritime transportation delays following an earthquake in British Columbia," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    16. Chong, Heap-Yih & Lam, Wei-Haur, 2013. "Ocean renewable energy in Malaysia: The potential of the Straits of Malacca," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 169-178.
    17. Dong Han & Jiajun Qiao & Yuling Ma & Qiankun Zhu, 2022. "The influence of spatial interfaces on rural economic restructuring in rapidly industrializing areas: A case study of Gongyi city in central China," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 1210-1242, September.
    18. Zhang, Liye & Meng, Qiang & Fang Fwa, Tien, 2019. "Big AIS data based spatial-temporal analyses of ship traffic in Singapore port waters," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 287-304.
    19. Yi-Chang Chiang & Tzen-Ying Ling, 2017. "Exploring Flood Resilience Thinking in the Retail Sector under Climate Change: A Case Study of an Estuarine Region of Taipei City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-21, September.
    20. Xiyan Mao & Peiyu Wang, 2023. "Import–export nexus and China's emerging trade in environmental goods," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 157-181, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2023:i:1:p:384-:d:1311508. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.