passages are terms that generally refer to naturally occurring navigable bodies of
water. A canal is an artificial strait or channel, constructed to connect two bodies
of water. Canals may be quite small and lie entirely within theboundariesof a
state, but a canal that joins two large bodies of water such as seas oroceanstypi-
cally has great commercial and military importance. Straits and passages also fre-
quently have strategic importance and formchoke points. Historically, access to
these stretches of water were a major element of theLaw of the Sea, as they are
easily controlled by the countries that hold the land on one or both sides of the
strait or passage, and fall within the territorial waters of the adjacent countries.
Blockading of the waterway can have serious strategic and/or commercial impact
on states whose economies are dependent on transit through the waterway, and this
action is often considered an act of war.
Possibly the most important strait in the world is the Strait of Hormuz, linking
the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. The strait is about 30 miles wide at its nar-
rowest point, and separates Iran from Oman. Several small islands occupy the
strait, and it represents one of the busiest stretches of water supporting commercial
shipping in the world. The strait controls access into and out of the Persian Gulf,
and thus is a key artery to the global market for the world’s most vital oil-
producing region. Approximately 40 percent of all petroleum transported via
water in the world passes through the strait, making it a key location in thegeo-
politicsof the Middle East. Although the strait lies within the territorial waters
of Iran and Oman, ships are granted the right of innocent passage according to
international agreement. So many largetankers ply the waters of the strait that
zones have been designated for use when either entering or exiting the Persian
Gulf, to lessen the chance of collision. Tensions in and near the strait have been
high for almost 20 years, due to the antagonistic relationship between the Iranian
regime and Western powers, especially the United States. When Iranian naval
forces mined portions of the strait in 1988, resulting in severe damage to a U.S.
vessel, the United States responded by destroying Iranian oil platforms and gun-
boats. Iranian leaders periodically threaten to close or limit access to the strait, a
threat that Western powers take quite seriously.
For centuries the Turkish Straits have been two of the most coveted and vital
waterways in the world. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea with the Sea of
Marmara, a small body of water lying between the Bosporus and its partner strait,
the Dardanelles. The latter connects the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara,
allowing passage into the Mediterranean Sea and onward to global shipping lanes.
The Bosporus is the smaller of the two passages, at less than a half-mile wide and
about 14 miles long. The Dardanelles, called in ancient sources theHellespont,is
about 30 miles long and on average is approximately three-quarters of a mile wide.
The Turkish Straits were the focus of the so-called “straits question” in the 19th
Straits, Passages, and Canals 323