Chokepoint transits report: September 2026
AIS-detectedGenerated Nov 4, 2026 · revision 1
Partial month: Voydar began counting on Sep 22, 2026, so this month covers only the days since.
Summary
In September 2026, Voydar observed 2,823 transits by 2,405 commercial ships across 6 monitored canals and straits.
The busiest was the Strait of Dover, with 1,416 transits.
Counts follow AIS receiver coverage, which grew during 2026: compare months by share of the total, not by raw counts.
In this report: Strait of Dover, Strait of Gibraltar, Kiel Canal, Singapore Strait, Panama Canal
Charts
- Cargo1,839
- Tanker849
- Other57
- Passenger43
- High-speed craft16
- Fishing11
- Tug4
- Unknown2
Data
Transits by waterway
| Waterway | Transits | Ships | Previous month | Change (%) | Monitored since |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strait of Dover | 1,416 | 1,238 | — | — | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Strait of Gibraltar | 680 | 655 | — | — | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Kiel Canal | 387 | 334 | — | — | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Singapore Strait | 331 | 319 | — | — | Sep 23, 2026 |
| Panama Canal | 7 | 7 | — | — | Sep 25, 2026 |
| Suez Canal | 2 | 1 | — | — | Sep 25, 2026 |
Transits by direction
| Waterway | From | To | Transits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kiel Canal | east (Kiel, Baltic) | west (Brunsbüttel, Elbe) | 197 |
| Kiel Canal | west (Brunsbüttel, Elbe) | east (Kiel, Baltic) | 190 |
| Panama Canal | north (Colón, Atlantic) | south (Balboa, Pacific) | 5 |
| Panama Canal | south (Balboa, Pacific) | north (Colón, Atlantic) | 2 |
| Singapore Strait | west (Strait of Malacca) | east (South China Sea) | 188 |
| Singapore Strait | east (South China Sea) | west (Strait of Malacca) | 143 |
| Strait of Dover | north-east (North Sea) | south-west (English Channel) | 747 |
| Strait of Dover | south-west (English Channel) | north-east (North Sea) | 669 |
| Strait of Gibraltar | west (Atlantic) | east (Mediterranean) | 439 |
| Strait of Gibraltar | east (Mediterranean) | west (Atlantic) | 241 |
| Suez Canal | south (Suez, Red Sea) | north (Port Said, Mediterranean) | 1 |
| Suez Canal | north (Port Said, Mediterranean) | south (Suez, Red Sea) | 1 |
Transits by ship type
| Ship type (AIS) | Transits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cargo | 1,839 | 65.1% |
| Tanker | 849 | 30.1% |
| Other | 57 | 2% |
| Passenger | 43 | 1.5% |
| High-speed craft | 16 | 0.6% |
| Fishing | 11 | 0.4% |
| Tug | 4 | 0.1% |
| Unknown | 2 | 0.1% |
| Military | 1 | 0% |
| Special craft | 1 | 0% |
Transits per day · Show the numbers as a table
Transits per day
| Day | Transits |
|---|---|
| Sep 22, 2026 | 121 |
| Sep 23, 2026 | 402 |
| Sep 24, 2026 | 441 |
| Sep 25, 2026 | 498 |
| Sep 26, 2026 | 142 |
| Sep 27, 2026 | 295 |
| Sep 28, 2026 | 303 |
| Sep 29, 2026 | 294 |
| Sep 30, 2026 | 327 |
Method and sources
- Method
- Counted by Voydar from AIS gate-line crossings, method v1+transits.v1.
- Version
- voydar.monthly_report v1+transits.v1
- Period
- Sep 1, 2026 to Sep 30, 2026 (UTC)
- Generated
- Nov 4, 2026 · r1
- Sources
- AISstream.io global terrestrial AIS · AIS data: AISstream.io
Limits
- A transit is a commercial ship with a checksum-valid IMO number seen on one side of a waterway's gate line and then on the other within the waterway's time limit. Ferries, tugs, pilots and pleasure craft are excluded.
- Coverage differs widely by waterway. Low counts for the Suez and Panama canals, Hormuz or Bab-el-Mandeb reflect thin AIS reception there, not low traffic. Compare a waterway with itself over time.
- A waterway added to the monitor during the month shows the date monitoring began.
Cite this report
Please cite the permalink. The numbers on it change only if the report is regenerated, which raises the revision.
Voydar (2026). Chokepoint transits report, September 2026 (revision 1, generated 2026-11-04). https://www.voydar.com/reports/chokepoints/2026-09
Download the data
These tables are not offered as files: they are built from AIS feeds whose terms do not yet allow redistribution of derived data. You may quote the figures with a citation.