World · Register

Passages

PortWatch data to Nov 1, 2026

01PanamaOpenFresh water — Gatun Lake levels set draft and slot count27.3 vs 32.9−17%02GibraltarOpenThe Strait of Gibraltar is constrained by geography rather than draft: the passage narrows between…131.6 vs 130.8+1%03BosphorusBindingThe Bosphorus is constrained by geography before it is constrained by politics: its narrow channel,…44.4 vs 101.1−56%04SuezWatchSuez is a sea-level canal, so freshwater scarcity and lock capacity do not ration passage as they…43 vs 64.2−33%05Bab el-MandebBindingRouting diversion around a war-risk insurance zone27.3 vs 63.5−57%06HormuzBindingHormuz is constrained by political control laid over narrow geography, not by draft or a seasonal…4.4 vs 85.1−95%07MalaccaOpenThe Strait of Malacca is constrained by navigational geometry rather than a toll or a single…202.7 vs 181+12%08Taiwan StraitOpenThe Taiwan Strait is not constrained chiefly by draft or a narrow navigable channel.247 vs 239.5+3%09Cape of Good HopeOpenCape of Good Hope is an open deep-water route around southern Africa, not a canal or a narrow…92 vs 45.5+102%10Danish straitsWatchThe Danish Straits are three separate routes between the Baltic and the North Sea: the Great Belt,…38.7 vs 50−23%

Also measured by IMF PortWatch

Eighteen more chokepoints, read by the same rule; not on World’s map

Strait of DoverOpen184.6 vs 161.7+14%Korea StraitOpen215.4 vs 238.9−10%Tsugaru StraitWatch30 vs 49.1−39%Luzon StraitOpen112.9 vs 66.9+69%Lombok StraitOpen33.3 vs 34.3−3%Ombai StraitWatch6.9 vs 11.7−41%Bohai StraitOpen151.6 vs 188.8−20%Torres StraitOpen9.1 vs 9.6−4%Sunda StraitOpen29.7 vs 27.6+8%Makassar StraitOpen43.9 vs 54.8−20%Strait of MagellanOpen4 vs 4.2−5%Yucatán ChannelOpen46.3 vs 44.9+3%Windward PassageOpen15.9 vs 15.2+5%Mona PassageOpen11.6 vs 10+16%Balabac StraitOpen16 vs 12.2+31%Bering StraitOpen1.9 vs 1.3+38%Mindoro StraitOpen47.7 vs 50.8−6%Kerch StraitBinding0 vs 38.7−100%

State compares transits a day over the latest 7 days of PortWatch data with the same 7 calendar days averaged over 2019–2023: Binding at half of normal or less, Watch from a fifth to a half below, Open within a fifth of normal or above it. Latest window 2026-10-26 to 2026-11-01. Counts come from ships’ AIS transponders, so a ship sailing dark is not counted and a passage whose traffic has gone dark can read lower than it is. State describes traffic through the passage, not the risk of an event. IMF PortWatch →