STRAIT RESTRICTED — Day 89 of disruption

Alternative Routes & Pipelines

Bypass options for shipping affected by the Hormuz closure

Interactive Route Cost Calculator

Route Comparison Summary

Route Comparison

Route Normal Days Cape Days Extra Days Extra Cost Status

Pipeline Bypass Capacity

Saudi Petroline

5M bbl/day

Eastern Province → Yanbu (Red Sea). At 1,200 km, it's the largest pipeline bypass but covers only 25% of normal Hormuz flow.

Capacity vs Normal Flow 25%
0 5M / 20M bbl/day

UAE ADCOP

1.5M bbl/day

Habshan → Fujairah (Gulf of Oman). Bypasses the strait entirely. Covers 7.5% of normal flow.

Capacity vs Normal Flow 7.5%
0 1.5M / 20M bbl/day

Iraq-Turkey

0.5M bbl/day

Kirkuk → Ceyhan (Mediterranean). Political disputes limit throughput. Just 2.5% of normal flow.

Capacity vs Normal Flow 2.5%
0 0.5M / 20M bbl/day
Total pipeline capacity: 7M bbl/day (35% of normal) — 13M bbl/day gap remains

The Pipeline Gap Problem

The combined capacity of all three bypass pipelines totals just 7 million barrels per day — roughly 35% of the 20 million barrels per day that normally flow through the Strait of Hormuz. This 13 million barrel per day gap is the central problem of the current crisis. No combination of existing pipelines can replace the sheer volume of seaborne crude that transits the strait, and building new pipeline capacity takes years, not weeks.

The Cape of Good Hope route adds 12-14 days to a typical voyage and approximately $500,000-$700,000 in additional costs per vessel. For the global economy, this translates to a daily surcharge measured in billions of dollars. The rerouting has also created a vessel shortage crisis, as ships tied up on longer routes cannot make their scheduled returns, leaving ports from Singapore to Rotterdam with empty container yards and delayed cargoes. The situation underscores a fundamental vulnerability in global energy infrastructure: the world's most critical oil chokepoint has no adequate backup plan.