Insights for Southeast Asian maritime markets
Muara Research is an independent research initiative covering the maritime industries of Southeast Asia. Coverage spans fisheries, shipping, ports, and seaborne trade.
The region
Why Southeast Asia decides how the world ships and eats.
Four figures set out the scale of the waters this research covers. Sources and collection dates are stated because the underlying data is uneven across the region, and the gaps matter as much as the totals.
$3.4tn
The South China Sea
Roughly a third of global shipping passes through the South China Sea, carrying trade valued at about 3.4 trillion dollars a year.
CSIS China Power Project
~90,000
The Strait of Malacca
Around 90,000 vessels transit the Malacca and Singapore Straits annually, making it one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world and the shortest sea route between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
41.1m
Singapore, second busiest port
Singapore handled 41.1 million TEU of container throughput in 2024 and remains the largest bunkering port in the world by volume.
Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
2nd
Indonesian fisheries
Indonesia is the second largest capture fisheries producer after China, and Southeast Asia as a whole accounts for close to a quarter of the global catch.
FAO, State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture