The strategic location of Gibraltar explains why, for centuries, the Rock has been used as a naval fortress and why so many battles have been fought over this tiny peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. Today, this same quirk of geography has allowed Gibraltar to become a maritime centre of excellence. Located at a crossroads of Mediterranean and Atlantic shipping lanes, Gibraltar is ideally placed to provide a wide range of services to vessels of all sizes and types. Gibraltar is a bustling commercial centre. With over 90,000 vessels transiting the Strait of Gibraltar each year, the Rock has become a major bunkering station – the largest in the Mediterranean – and offers a wide range of other shipping services.