Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs) are crucial shipping routes that connect ports worldwide. They are vital for global trade and have significant strategic importance, especially during wartime. Whoever controls these routes gains a significant advantage, according to Marine Insight.
Importance of Sea Lines of Communication
SLOCs are primary maritime trade lanes, often referred to as the arteries of a region’s economy. They promote economic development, sustain international trade, and act as crucial paths during wars or other emergencies.
When SLOCs are secure, maritime trade flourishes. The volume of seaborne trade in 2021 stood at 11 billion tonnes, a 3.2% increase from 2020.
The volume of maritime trade has almost doubled since the 1990s, when it was approximately four billion tonnes. The capacity of the global merchant fleet has also risen by over 40% between 2013 and 2021, reaching 2.1 million deadweight tonnes in 2021.
Protecting Sea Lines of Communication
The naval concept applicable to protecting SLOCs and maritime chokepoints is called sea control.
In the same way, maritime chokepoints are constricted yet heavily trafficked waterways separating oceans and seas. Due to security threats like pirates, they can be vulnerable to attacks or dangerous to navigate in some regions.
Lawful sea control helps deny or limit the enemy’s capacity to threaten SLOCs and chokepoints or use them for war-supporting shipping.
It also allows states to protect their navigational rights and prevent unlawful interference. Protecting SLOCs and chokepoints ensures that waterways remain open for trade and navigation but shielded from hostilities by enemies.
SLOCs and Geography
SLOCs can also be considered maritime routes taken by a ship to transit from Point A to B. This route should be short, safe, and economical for shipping cargo.
SLOCs have different lengths, depending on the landmass, choke points, reefs, and port and harbour locations.
There is a link between SLOCs and the geography of a region when making a strategy. Economists and the Military focus on geography while devising strategic relations and requirements.
Threats to Sea Lines of Communication
Pirate Attacks
Southeast Asia is a piracy hotspot and witnesses many incidents throughout the year, especially in the Malacca and Singapore Straits. These waterways witness the heaviest maritime traffic congestion, and hundreds of ships transit them annually.
VLCCs reduce speed while crossing the waterways as the presence of shallow areas and shipwrecks makes them dangerous to navigate. Pirates target ships in this region as they can get away quickly due to the geography, leading to a rise in piracy attacks, which are becoming common in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.
Illegal Fishing
For billions of people, fish constitutes the primary protein source, and more than half of the world’s catch comes from Asian waters, while five of the main fish-producing nations are in Pacific Asia.
Marine Pollution
Malacca Strait is a busy waterway that hundreds of ships and oil tankers cross daily. Hence, the sea lane is prone to ship accidents like collisions, groundings, and worse, oil spills which could lead to its temporary closure, affecting shipping and impacting its marine ecology, killing sea creatures, birds, and any life that thrives near the coasts.
The MV Exxon Valdez disaster has left a deep impact on the region and in the minds of environmentalists.
Also, marine debris like fishing gear, derelict ships and their parts, etc, can cause harm to marine life.
Smuggling
Millions of people leave their countries in search of better economic opportunities. Per ILO, over 7 million Asians work overseas, of which half are illegal migrants.
Around a million people are smuggled illegally annually, and most of them come from China, Iran, India, Iraq, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Sudan etc.
Did you subscribe to our daily Newsletter?
It’s Free Click here to Subscribe!
Source: Marine Insight
