Common Sense is Rare

CAN THE WORLD BYPASS THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ? 🌍⚓

A fascinating question recently went viral on Facebook:

Is there really no way to bypass the Strait of Hormuz?
The narrow sea passage through which nearly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply travels, and which has become one of the most sensitive flashpoints in global politics and military tension.

Many people asked: Why not simply dig a canal nearby and create a new route?

Surprisingly, this idea is not new. Engineers and strategists have discussed it for decades. 🇴🇲🚧

The Musandam Canal Idea

The proposed solution was a massive canal through Oman’s Musandam Peninsula—a shortcut connecting the Persian Gulf directly to the Gulf of Oman, allowing ships to avoid the Strait of Hormuz entirely.

On paper, it sounds brilliant.

But in reality, it may be one of the most difficult infrastructure projects on Earth.

Why Hormuz Matters So Much

The Strait of Hormuz sits between Iran and Oman and acts as the only maritime gateway out of the Persian Gulf.

Major oil exporters such as:

Saudi Arabia

Iraq

Kuwait

Qatar

United Arab Emirates

all depend heavily on this route.

Every day, roughly 20 million barrels of oil move through Hormuz—about 20% of the world’s oil demand. If disruption happens here, fuel prices can rise worldwide within hours. 🌍⛽

That means even countries thousands of miles away can feel the shock through:

Higher fuel prices

Rising food transport costs

Inflation

Stock market panic

Shipping delays

This is why Hormuz is not just a regional issue—it is a global pressure point.

Why Not Build the Canal?

Because nature built a fortress there.

The Musandam Peninsula is not flat desert land. It is filled with the rugged Hajar Mountains, with elevations over 2,000 meters.

To create a canal large enough for supertankers, engineers would need to remove enormous sections of solid rock and create a channel deep and wide enough for the world’s largest oil ships.

These tankers are enormous—some nearly the length of three football fields.

This would mean:

Blasting mountains

Excavating billions of tons of rock

Building ports and defenses

Managing water flow and erosion

Maintaining security forever

Estimated cost: $100+ billion (and likely much more today).

My honest opinion? Final cost could easily exceed $150–200 billion after delays, politics, and inflation.

The Political Problem Is Bigger Than The Engineering Problem

Even if money was available, Oman would have to approve it.

And Oman has traditionally chosen a careful, balanced foreign policy. It values:

Stability

Tourism

Fishing industries

Environmental protection

Neutral diplomacy

Destroying one of its most scenic and ecologically valuable regions to create an oil shortcut for other countries may not be attractive.

In my view, politics—not engineering—is the biggest barrier.

Because to build it, you would need agreement from:

Oman

Gulf states

Investors

Security alliances

Insurance markets

Environmental regulators

Getting all those groups to agree may be harder than cutting the mountains.

Even If Built… Would It Solve Anything?

Not really.

It would simply replace one chokepoint with another.

Instead of depending on the Strait of Hormuz, the world would depend on the Musandam Canal.

That creates new dangers:

One ship gets stuck?

Like the Ever Given in the Suez Canal—global chaos.

Sabotage or missile attack?

The canal could close for weeks or months.

Earthquake or landslide?

The region is mountainous and geologically active enough for real concern.

Military conflict nearby?

Insurance costs would skyrocket.

So the world could spend hundreds of billions only to create a newer, narrower vulnerability.

My Real Opinion: The Better Solution Is Not Another Canal

Instead of spending $100+ billion digging mountains, countries should invest in:

1. More Pipelines

Expand overland routes to the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and Mediterranean.

2. Strategic Oil Storage

Emergency reserves reduce panic during short disruptions.

3. Renewable Energy

Every solar panel and EV reduces Hormuz dependence.

4. Diversified Shipping Routes

Spread supply chains globally.

5. Diplomacy

Keeping Hormuz open peacefully is cheaper than replacing it.

The Bigger Lesson

Even in the age of AI, satellites, and space technology, global civilization still depends on a few narrow passages created by geography:

Strait of Hormuz

Suez Canal

Malacca Strait

Panama Canal

Bosporus

If any one closes for weeks, the world economy shakes.

That shows something powerful:

Technology advances fast. Geography changes slowly.

Final Thought

If I had $100 billion, I would not build the Musandam Canal.

I would invest it in energy independence, logistics resilience, and diplomacy.

Because the smartest way to escape a chokepoint is not always to dig around it—it is to stop depending on it.

What do you think? Would you build the canal—or spend the money elsewhere? 🌍🚢⛽