World · Register

Passages

PortWatch data to Oct 4, 2026

01PanamaOpenFresh water — Gatun Lake levels set draft and slot count27.1 vs 31.1−13%02GibraltarOpenThe Strait of Gibraltar is constrained by geography rather than draft: the passage narrows between…135.1 vs 133.4+1%03BosphorusBindingThe Bosphorus is constrained by geography before it is constrained by politics: its narrow channel,…38.6 vs 98.9−61%04SuezWatchSuez is a sea-level canal, so freshwater scarcity and lock capacity do not ration passage as they…43.1 vs 62.8−31%05Bab el-MandebBindingRouting diversion around a war-risk insurance zone29.6 vs 64.7−54%06HormuzBindingHormuz is constrained by political control laid over narrow geography, not by draft or a seasonal…2.7 vs 89.7−97%07MalaccaOpenThe Strait of Malacca is constrained by navigational geometry rather than a toll or a single…226.3 vs 181.9+24%08Taiwan StraitOpenThe Taiwan Strait is not constrained chiefly by draft or a narrow navigable channel.233 vs 250.2−7%09Cape of Good HopeOpenCape of Good Hope is an open deep-water route around southern Africa, not a canal or a narrow…87.7 vs 50.5+74%10Danish straitsWatchThe Danish Straits are three separate routes between the Baltic and the North Sea: the Great Belt,…38.9 vs 49.3−21%

Also measured by IMF PortWatch

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

Strait of DoverOpen169 vs 164.3+3%Korea StraitOpen215.7 vs 242.2−11%Tsugaru StraitOpen50.1 vs 49.8+1%Luzon StraitOpen90.3 vs 67.2+34%Lombok StraitOpen35.6 vs 35.50%Ombai StraitOpen10 vs 11.2−10%Bohai StraitOpen149.1 vs 175.5−15%Torres StraitOpen8.1 vs 9−10%Sunda StraitOpen34.1 vs 27.9+22%Makassar StraitOpen54 vs 52.8+2%Strait of MagellanOpen8.1 vs 4.3+88%Yucatán ChannelOpen48 vs 46.7+3%Windward PassageOpen14.7 vs 16.7−12%Mona PassageOpen11 vs 10.9+1%Balabac StraitOpen12.4 vs 10.7+16%Bering StraitOpen6.7 vs 2.3+187%Mindoro StraitOpen53.6 vs 48.2+11%Kerch StraitBinding0 vs 39.4−100%

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 2026-09-28 to 2026-10-04. 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 →