Capt. Naveen S. Singhal and Capt. M. M. Saggi

In the world’s most vital oil chokepoint, the elegant certainties of maritime law dissolve into a murky contest of power, risk and coercion. The Strait of Hormuz is, in the dry language of international law, a “strait used for international navigation.” In the less sterile vocabulary of geopolitics, it is a loaded gun pointed at the global economy. Barely 21 nautical miles wide at its narrowest point, this corridor connects the oil-rich Persian Gulf to the wider Arabian Sea. Around a fifth of...

While the world’s shipping fleet looks bigger than ever, its safety culture is quietly rotting and India has the most to lose. Global shipping transports over 80 per cent of world trade, making it essential for economic stability and global supply-chain security. From oil and grain to smartphones and fertiliser, the modern economy remains lashed to steel hulls and diesel engines. The merchant fleet has never been larger as well over 100,000 vessels ply the oceans today, but it has rarely been...

At the mouth of the Malacca Strait, India is trying to turn an isolated outpost into a maritime gamechanger. India’s southernmost tip is...