Strait of Gibraltar Live
Every vessel threading the Strait of Gibraltar, on one live map. The only sea connection between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea — separating Spain from Morocco, and one of the world's busiest maritime passages.
Live vessel positions
Open full-screen ↗How busy is the Strait of Gibraltar?
The Strait of Gibraltar is one of the world's busiest maritime passages, carrying a large share of Mediterranean-bound trade and tanker traffic. Container ships, tankers and bulk carriers move through it constantly, alongside heavy bunkering activity at the Gibraltar, Algeciras and Ceuta anchorages. The live map above shows every vessel with an active AIS signal, updated each minute.
Why the Strait of Gibraltar matters
The Strait of Gibraltar is the only sea connection between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, separating Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. A large share of Mediterranean-bound trade and tanker traffic transits it, and the anchorages at Gibraltar, Algeciras and Ceuta make the area one of the most important bunkering hubs in the region. It is not a canal — it is a natural international strait, governed by the UNCLOS transit-passage regime.
This page exists because that flow deserves a free, public, real-time view — not buried behind a maritime-intelligence subscription. Watch the map. The ships are still moving.
What you're seeing on the map
- Every vessel inside the Strait of Gibraltar bounding box, between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, with an active AIS signal.
- Vessel type — tanker, bulk, container, cargo, sailing — colour-coded.
- Direction and speed — heading arrows and speed colours show eastbound vs westbound transit.
- Live refresh every 60 seconds on the public feed.
For voyage history, sanction status, ownership chain, and cargo inference, sign in to the Strait Up Maritime app.
Geography
The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow channel linking the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. It is about 14 km wide at its narrowest point, between Point Marroquí near Tarifa and Point Cires, and roughly 58 km long. It is marked by strong two-layer currents: less-saline Atlantic water flows in at the surface while denser Mediterranean water flows out below. Unlike the Suez or Panama canals it is not an artificial waterway.
About the data
Vessel positions come from terrestrial and satellite AIS reception, aggregated across multiple providers and de-duplicated. The public live feed is delayed approximately 60 to 180 seconds from broadcast and covers the public Strait of Gibraltar bounding box only. Commercial users with a paid plan get unredacted access including vessel detail, voyage history, draught classification, sanctions context, and ownership chain.
AIS data is broadcast openly by vessels under the SOLAS V/19 carriage requirement. We aggregate, refresh, and visualise it — we don't operate the broadcasting infrastructure.
Frequently asked questions
How busy is the Strait of Gibraltar?
The Strait of Gibraltar is one of the world's busiest maritime passages, carrying a large share of Mediterranean-bound trade and tanker traffic. It is also home to major bunkering anchorages at Gibraltar, Algeciras and Ceuta.
How wide is the Strait of Gibraltar?
The strait is about 14 km wide at its narrowest point, between Point Marroquí near Tarifa and Point Cires, and roughly 58 km long. It is the only sea connection between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
What is the transit-passage regime at Gibraltar?
The Strait of Gibraltar is governed by the UNCLOS transit-passage regime, which guarantees continuous and expeditious passage for ships and aircraft. It is a natural international strait, not a canal.
How current is the data on this page?
The live map refreshes every 60 seconds from aggregated AIS reception. End-to-end latency from a vessel's actual broadcast to its dot moving on the map is typically 60 to 180 seconds. The hero counter above updates each time you reload the page.
Is this free to use?
Yes. The live map is free and requires no account. If you need vessel detail, voyage history, sanctions context, ownership chain, or draught/cargo inference, those sit behind a paid plan at Strait Up Maritime.
Other chokepoints we cover
The Strait of Gibraltar is one of several maritime chokepoints under continuous observation across Strait Up Maritime. Each has its own live page; the same dataset powers all of them.