Bab el-Mandeb, Gate of Tears when translated to Arabic, separates the Asian and African continents by thirty kilometers. It is sandwiched between the nations of Djibouti to the southwest and Yemen to the Northeast. The strait itself is partitioned by the island of Perim, currently Yemeni territory. This splits the strait into a western corridor of about twenty-five kilometers and one to its opposite, only three kilometers in width. Yemen is known to harbor Al Qaeda and other less popular terrorist organizations, and African coastal nations are not strangers to terror and piracy. Al Qaeda ushered in the new century of terrorism when on 12 October 2000, a Yemeni dhow armed with explosives blew a thirty-six foot hole in the hull of the USS Cole, killing seventeen sailors.

The Strait of Hormuz, facing the Iranian and Omani/UAE coasts, is one of the most logistically important chokepoints. The strait is the only option open to Gulf States who export petroleum and other products. However, merchant mariners have been wary to travel through the strait, as Iranians are infamous for mining and blocking passage through the strait. The Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s is a fine example of how well the Iranians were able to close the strait off by means of emplacing mines and enforcing their blockade with armed vessels. Until intervention from the United States, Kuwaiti and other foreign merchant vessels were unable to sail through the strait to deliver their goods, and there were a few damaged civilian vessels within the conflict.

The Northwest Passage, though not a specifically dangerous area when compared to the latter two sea lanes, is as important. Located within the Arctic Circle and frozen over for a good portion of the year, the strait begins between the eastern Russians and Alaskan coast, and east through Canadian territory. There are three routes available to vessels, however all will eventually exit in a similar fashion. Pack ice does not permit regular travel through the strait, but because of climate change, passage may be more feasible without the assistance of icebreakers. Because the strait is located within Canadian waters, the Canadian government believes the nation may regulate fishing and environmental policy, as long as the regulation, restricting, and even possible taxation of passage through the strait. The United States, along with many other nations which highly benefit from usage of the strait totally disagree with the Canadian Parliament.

Plagued by years of colonization, brutal internal violence, and a propensity to raise and harbor potential pirates and terrorists, Indonesia and the surrounding oceanic nations are already unstable. The Strait of Malacca links the Indian Ocean to the Eastern Pacific, imperative for trade between China, India, Japan, Pakistan, and others, littoral or landlocked. According to the Energy Information Administration, the strait is one of the world's most important chokepoints when dealing with transportation of oil. Piracy has always been an issue within the strait, seeing as it is one of the quickest ways to make a living in the region. Southeastern Asian countries are currently making an effort at reporting and preventing piracy attacks within the strait. Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia actively contribute with military craft, both on sea and air.

The Turkish Straits, important to trade along the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, are effectively the gateway between Europe and near-eastern Asia, as far as trade is concerned. The two straits, the Dardanelles and Bosporus, are on opposite sides of a body of water known as the Sea of Marmara. The only way through is to pass through both straits. The Black Sea is nearly an internal sea, much like that of the Caspian, with the exception of these passages. The wider of the two, the Dardanelles is only a kilometer wide and nearly seventy kilometers long, whereas the Bosporus is a diminutive seven hundred meters wide and thirty kilometers long. The Dardanelles faces the Aegean to the west and the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus facing the eastern black Sea. Romania, Ukraine, Russia, and Caucasian countries rely on these sea lanes for trade. Though the Turkish are much tamer than their eastern relatives, conflicts between Turkey and Greece have always been an issue with the maritime industry.

The South China Sea is home to several nations which thrive off of trade. Southeast Asia relies off of trade to survive, and as the United States utilizes China more for the manufacture of basic goods, more important does the South China Sea become. China, Vietnam, Thailand, The Philippines, and several island nations have laid claim to chunks of the body of water, but the dominant nation in the area is China. Able to outspend and outdo any of the other countries in a military capacity, the state has basically taken the entire sea as their own. One of the possessions prized by both the Southeast Asian region and a good portion of the world are a scattered group of islands called the Spratlys. Diminutive, and almost useless for habitation or much else, they are home to some of the world's richest oil deposits. However, they go far beyond the territorial waters of any nation in the area, though many have attempted to set up outposts and housing. Because basic life cannot be supported on the islands, most of the land is only visible at low tide, they cannot be officially considered islands. Currently, the Chinese and several nations have naval craft deployed, each trying to make their claim at what could be the world's next Gold Rush, or an all-out war.

The Strait of Malacca is often argued as the most dangerous of all sea lanes and trade routes. This is common not only because of its truth, but its exposure to the public. However, the ferocity of the events occurring within the strait and around it is not all because those who create violence and mayhem seek to please themselves. Several Indonesian separatist groups exist, the sheer volume and mass of the nation and plethora of ethnicities against the current regime create a problem not unlike a small civil war. The Free Papua movement, Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor, and the Free Aceh Movement, though all now defunct and their members reintegrated with civil society, are just examples of how the country and surrounding nations have managed to rip themselves apart over various battles.

This, in turn, forces those with no money or alternative way of life to turn to stealing. Because many vessels traverse the waters and the locals know them so well, it comes easier than having to actually find work. Vessels with a lower freeboard are favored by most pirates, but because of the traffic in the Strait of Malacca, there is a much higher chance of having one's ship boarded and having money and objects of variable value stolen. Many seek private gain, and others need to find ways to tend to their dependents. After the tsunamis that rocked the Southeast Asian region swept through Indonesia, piracy was not a threat for some time. Like all popular trades, especially those that bring in large sums of wealth, it would find a way to reappear, and attacks became much more common as time progressed and man adapted.

The strait of Bab el-Mandeb is conveniently located between two equally desperate areas, both devoid of material wealth and Western thought. In Yemen, where rule is assumed by those who commit to a life of the trade of terror, and where law is oppression or death, it is all too common to see individual cases of terrorism, like that of the Cole. Piracy is less an issue to the north, as monetary gain is not as important to those who operate along the coasts as spreading a doctrine of fear or coaxing others into submission or conversion by means of explosion and death. To the south, however, anything that is needed goes. The Somalis and other African peoples, who will at times do anything to save their own lives to work for warlords, will resort to piracy to fund the operations of their said employer. United Nations relief vessels, merchant ships, and even cruise vessels have been attacked farther than one-hundred miles off of the coast of the Horn of Africa, proving to those who seek to stop piracy that with advancement in quelling the ability of a pirate brings adaptation by others.

Overall, Bab el-Mandeb is much more threatening when compared to the Strait of Malacca. Both are highly dangerous areas, definitely a threat to commerce in Africa, Asia, and the world's interests. The Strait of Malacca has presented itself as a drain of maritime corporations' funds and financial loss of business all over the world. Bab el-Mandeb and the surrounding coasts are home to some of the most vile and violent groups on the planet, harboring both terrorists and on a lesser scale, pirates. Given that terrorism will often cause more disruption and often halt traffic in a specific area for an extended period of time, it does much to damage society, infrastructure, and international trade. Piracy, though in greater volume and resulting in more deaths over time, does not give the massive effect of a single terror operation, where the death was deliberate and meant as a warning to those who pass without the approval of the aggressive entity.

Walking through the museum, I saw a lot of paintings by local artist and other artwork, such as wood carvings and brass statues. There are also lots of models of different kinds of ships, boats and other nautical vessels, from the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria that Christopher Columbus used to cross the Atlantic, to ancient Roman ships and dugout canoes that were actually used for long distance travel by ancient South Pacific Islanders. The paintings really caught my attention though. They really capture the beauty that you normally don't notice, even if you live near the ocean. There are paintings of San Pedro fishing boats and the Vincent Thomas Bridge. These paintings caught my attention because of the colors that were used and the attention to detail they showed. Some of the paintings looked like actual photographs.

The newest exhibit at the museum is called, “what's in name?” The exhibit explores the ship-naming practices in the U.S. Navy. It was very interesting. Up until I saw this exhibit, I didn't know that the Secretary of the Navy was responsible for naming each and every new vessel in the fleet. In the early 20th century the Navy came up with a system where each vessel had a naming scheme.

The Secretary of the Navy chooses ship names from a list of geographical places, famous individuals, animals and other things. For some names, there is a rhyme and reason. The submarines are named for fish and the ammunition ships for volcanoes. For others, the connection is a little more obscure and sometimes non-existent. The most heavily armed vessels, or battleships, are given state names. The cruisers, those fast, maneuverable warships lacking the firepower that the battleships have, are named for large cities. The exhibit shows pictures from different types of naval ships and information on who or what they were named after.

Another exhibit that caught my eye was called, “Caught, Canned and Eaten.” Ms. Ruth was telling me that this fishing and cannery exhibit was the result of several years of community outreach by museum staff and volunteers. They had researched and interviewed former fishermen and cannery workers in order to preserve their memories and artifacts for future generations to study and learn from. Last December, this exhibit that they worked so hard for get for so long was finally introduced as a permanent exhibit in the museum. This exhibit was put in place to honor the generations of local residents whose life's work made Los Angeles harbor the nation's top fishing port.

San Pedro has had a huge impact on the world of commercial fishing. For example, one of the first significant efforts to begin commercial fishing off the coast of Peru was undertaken by the French Sardine company of San Pedro in 1939. Ms. Ruth also told me that in late 1969, the Los Angeles Harbor Mackerel fleet completely suspended operations because of a state health department finding of high amounts of DDT in the fish. She said her husband worked for a commercial fishing company back then, and he was out of work for months because of this.

The museum will be hosting a Smithsonian exhibit on June 21, 2007 in recognition of the 200th anniversary of the Coast Survey. The exhibit will be on view there from June 22-July 21. I will definitely be returning to see that.

Overall, I learned a lot from my visit to the museum. I had a great time talking with Ms. Ruth and I enjoyed learning about the place I live. It was a little sad that I was the only one there; I wish more people would go and learn about how this area has developed over the last 200 years and how it is still constantly changing. In another 50 years, there is no telling what its going to look like? There might not be any ships left, there might not be any water, and maybe all of Los Angeles will be underwater. If everyone knew how much hard work and dedication it has taken the local residents to get the harbor and the surrounding cities of San Pedro, Wilmington and Long beach to where they are now, maybe they would think twice about throwing trash on the ground, or tagging on wall. Maybe everyone would take a little more pride in their town and harbor, and treat it like their home.