Suez Canal
Mediterranean ↔ Red Sea · the artery Europe-Asia trade can't live without.
Open the live Suez tracker
See every vessel currently in the Suez Canal, with sanctioned vessels highlighted in red.
Launch live map →How many ships pass through the Suez Canal each day?
Roughly 50 to 60 vessels per day on average. Annual traffic, live composition by vessel type, and real-time density are visible on our live tracker.
Why the Suez Canal matters
The Suez Canal carries about 12% of global seaborne trade by volume — containerised goods between Asia and Europe, plus crude oil and refined products from the Gulf to the Mediterranean. Any disruption is felt within days at European ports and within hours in container freight rates. The 2021 Ever Given blockage held up an estimated US$9 billion of trade per day.
Geography
The Suez Canal is a 193-kilometre artificial waterway in Egypt, linking the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. There is no overland alternative at the same scale — the only sea bypass is around the Cape of Good Hope, adding ~9,000 km and 10–14 days to the journey.
Dimensions and constraints
The canal is single-lane through most of its 193 km, with two bypass sections allowing northbound and southbound convoys to pass. Authorised depth is 24 metres (recently deepened to 24.5 m for the southern stretch), beam up to 77.5 m. Suezmax tankers (120,000–200,000 DWT) are sized to transit fully laden.
About the data
Vessel positions come from aggregated terrestrial and satellite AIS, de-duplicated across multiple providers. The public feed is delayed approximately 60 to 180 seconds from broadcast. Commercial users with a paid plan get full vessel detail — voyage history, draught classification, sanctions context, ownership chain.
Frequently asked questions
How many ships pass through the Suez Canal each day?
On average 50 to 60 commercial vessels transit the Suez Canal each day — a mix of container ships, tankers, bulk carriers, and LNG carriers moving between European and Asian/Middle Eastern markets. Annual transits are roughly 20,000.
Is the Suez Canal currently open?
Yes. Our live tracker shows current vessel positions in real time. The canal has experienced two major blockages in modern history (Ever Given 2021, regional conflicts in 1956 and 1967–1975) but is otherwise continuously open year-round.
Why is the Suez Canal so important?
It is the only major waterway connecting Europe and Asia that doesn't require rounding the Cape of Good Hope. The alternative route is ~9,000 km longer, adding 10–14 days transit time and tens of thousands of dollars in fuel per voyage.
What types of ships transit the Suez Canal?
Container ships dominate (Asia-Europe trade), followed by oil and product tankers, LNG carriers, bulk carriers (iron ore, grain), and car carriers. The canal accommodates Suezmax tankers fully laden; ULCC supertankers transit in ballast or take the Cape route.
How wide and deep is the Suez Canal?
Authorised depth is 24 metres (24.5 m in the southern stretch after 2021 deepening); beam up to 77.5 m. The canal is single-lane through most of its 193 km length, with bypass sections allowing two-way convoy operation.
Why does the Suez Canal matter for sanctions monitoring?
Tankers carrying Iranian, Russian, and Venezuelan oil routinely transit Suez under disguised ownership, AIS gaps, or flag-of-convenience structures. Our sanctioned-vessel overlay highlights any flagged tanker currently in the canal — useful for compliance, bunker, and insurance teams.
Other chokepoints we cover
Strait Up Maritime tracks seven maritime chokepoints. Same dataset, same sanctioned overlay, same 60-second refresh.