{"id":31147,"date":"2026-09-05T18:53:45","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T18:53:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/?p=31147"},"modified":"2026-08-20T18:56:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T18:56:14","slug":"the-strait-of-hormuz-is-pivotal-to-trade-energy-and-infrastructure-but-what-lies-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/the-strait-of-hormuz-is-pivotal-to-trade-energy-and-infrastructure-but-what-lies-ahead\/","title":{"rendered":"The Strait of Hormuz is pivotal to trade, energy, and infrastructure\u2014but what lies ahead?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yes. And if we look at the Strait of Hormuz as an integrated strategic system<\/strong>, rather than merely a maritime passage, I believe its importance consists of several layers, some of which are less well known than oil and trade.<\/p>\n

1. Energy<\/h4>\n

This is the most well-known layer: crude oil, petroleum products, and liquefied natural gas. In the first half of 2025, approximately 20.9 million barrels per day<\/strong> of oil and petroleum liquids passed through Hormuz, equivalent to roughly 20% of global petroleum liquids consumption.<\/p>\n

2. Maritime Trade<\/h4>\n

The Strait is not merely an \u201coil route\u201d; it is the gateway between the Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Arabian Sea. Cargo ships, container vessels, raw materials, and other forms of maritime commerce therefore pass through it.<\/p>\n

3. Digital Infrastructure<\/h4>\n

This is the layer you referred to earlier and it is extremely important: submarine telecommunications cables<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Submarine cables carry more than 99% of international data traffic and support communications, the financial sector, cloud computing, and government communications.<\/p>\n

For this reason, the seabed of Hormuz can be viewed as part of the digital infrastructure of the Gulf states<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

4. Military Security<\/h4>\n

This is where the importance of Hormuz shifts from being primarily \u201ceconomic\u201d to becoming geopolitical and military<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Strait is the gateway through which naval forces based in the Gulf access the Indian Ocean. Consequently, control over freedom of movement through the Strait affects:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Naval forces.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Aircraft carriers and their escort vessels.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Supply and logistics ships.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Surveillance and reconnaissance operations.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Coastal and air-defense systems.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • The security of military bases located in the Gulf.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    This makes Hormuz a military gateway<\/strong> as much as a commercial one.<\/p>\n

    5. Strategic Communications<\/h4>\n

    There is a distinction between commercial Internet traffic and government, military, and strategic communications<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Even when there is no publicly identified military cable in a particular area, disruption to communications infrastructure can indirectly affect government institutions, economic activity, and command-and-control systems.<\/p>\n

    This is one reason submarine cables are considered critical global infrastructure.<\/p>\n

    6. Food Security and Essential Goods<\/h4>\n

    This is a layer that does not receive enough attention.<\/p>\n

    The Gulf states rely heavily on imports to meet their food and essential-goods requirements. Therefore, disruption to maritime traffic does not merely mean higher oil prices; it can also affect:<\/p>\n

    Food \u2192 animal feed \u2192 fertilizers \u2192 industrial materials \u2192 consumer goods.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    In other words, the impact of Hormuz can extend to the economic and social security<\/strong> of the states surrounding the Gulf.<\/p>\n

    7. Water and Domestic Energy Security<\/h4>\n

    This is extremely important for the Gulf states.<\/p>\n

    Most countries in the region depend to significant degrees on desalination of seawater<\/strong>. Desalination plants require energy, materials, equipment, and spare parts, and many of these facilities are located close to the coast.<\/p>\n

    Therefore, maintaining maritime and energy security in the Gulf is also indirectly connected to water security<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    \n

    Most importantly, there is an eighth layer<\/h4>\n

    This is the one I believe could become increasingly important in the future:<\/p>\n

    Political influence and sovereignty over maritime traffic<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    This connects directly to what you were saying about Iran\u2019s position.<\/p>\n

    If Hormuz moves from the concept of:<\/p>\n

    \u201cAn open international waterway in which navigation operates under the customary system\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

    to:<\/p>\n

    \u201cAn open strategic waterway, but one operating under security arrangements and procedures determined by the coastal states,\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

    then the strategic value of the Strait changes fundamentally.<\/p>\n

    The ability to permit, restrict, inspect, regulate traffic, and determine risks<\/strong> itself becomes a political instrument.<\/p>\n

    This is not merely a theoretical concept. Even economically, the 2026 crisis demonstrated that simply increasing the risks associated with transit and insurance can raise transportation costs to historic levels, even before considering a permanent closure.<\/p>\n

    The Strait of Hormuz can therefore be summarized by this equation:<\/p>\n

    Hormuz = Energy + Trade + Communications + Infrastructure + Military Security + Food Security + Water Security + Political Influence.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    And this is precisely why I believe the statement \u201cHormuz will not return to its previous state,\u201d<\/strong> if it means redefining the rules governing maritime traffic and security control, is far broader and more consequential than simply threatening to close the Strait.<\/p>\n

    Control of Hormuz does not necessarily mean closing it; sometimes it is more powerful when the Strait remains open, but under new conditions.<\/strong><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Yes. And if we look at the Strait of Hormuz as an integrated strategic system, rather than merely a maritime passage, I believe its importance consists of several layers, some of which are less well known than oil and trade. 1. Energy This is the most well-known layer: crude oil, petroleum products, and liquefied natural …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":31139,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1485],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-various-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31147"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31148,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31147\/revisions\/31148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilayah.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}