The Iranian Revolutionary Guard seized a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Key details:
- The Strait of Hormuz is a strait between the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
- It provides the only sea passage from the Arabian Gulf to the open ocean.
- It is one of the world’s most strategically important choke points.
- A third of the world’s liquefied natural gas and almost 25% of total global oil consumption passes through the strait.
What is a strait:
- A strait is a narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water.
- It may be formed by a fracture in an isthmus (a narrow body of land that connects two bodies of water).
- Tectonic shifts can lead to straits like this.
SOURCE: THE HINDU, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, PIB