World · Register

Passages

PortWatch data to Oct 18, 2026

01PanamaOpenFresh water — Gatun Lake levels set draft and slot count27.7 vs 32.8−15%02GibraltarOpenThe Strait of Gibraltar is constrained by geography rather than draft: the passage narrows between…124.4 vs 134−7%03BosphorusBindingThe Bosphorus is constrained by geography before it is constrained by politics: its narrow channel,…46.6 vs 103.1−55%04SuezWatchSuez is a sea-level canal, so freshwater scarcity and lock capacity do not ration passage as they…44.3 vs 63−30%05Bab el-MandebBindingRouting diversion around a war-risk insurance zone26.4 vs 64.4−59%06HormuzBindingHormuz is constrained by political control laid over narrow geography, not by draft or a seasonal…3.7 vs 89.6−96%07MalaccaOpenThe Strait of Malacca is constrained by navigational geometry rather than a toll or a single…215.1 vs 185.1+16%08Taiwan StraitOpenThe Taiwan Strait is not constrained chiefly by draft or a narrow navigable channel.227.3 vs 227.10%09Cape of Good HopeOpenCape of Good Hope is an open deep-water route around southern Africa, not a canal or a narrow…85.7 vs 47.5+80%10Danish straitsOpenThe Danish Straits are three separate routes between the Baltic and the North Sea: the Great Belt,…41.4 vs 50.5−18%

Also measured by IMF PortWatch

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

Strait of DoverOpen175 vs 167.9+4%Korea StraitOpen195.9 vs 231.3−15%Tsugaru StraitOpen44 vs 51.3−14%Luzon StraitOpen103.4 vs 75.2+38%Lombok StraitOpen38.4 vs 34.7+11%Ombai StraitWatch7.7 vs 11.2−31%Bohai StraitOpen147.6 vs 170.3−13%Torres StraitOpen8.1 vs 9.2−11%Sunda StraitOpen33.6 vs 27.5+22%Makassar StraitOpen55.7 vs 53.7+4%Strait of MagellanOpen4.3 vs 4.3−1%Yucatán ChannelOpen50.9 vs 45.7+11%Windward PassageOpen13.3 vs 16.3−18%Mona PassageOpen11.3 vs 11.2+1%Balabac StraitOpen10.3 vs 11.7−12%Bering StraitOpen3.1 vs 1.7+80%Mindoro StraitOpen56.6 vs 46.7+21%Kerch StraitBinding0 vs 46.5−100%

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 2026-10-12 to 2026-10-18. 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 →