Cape of Good Hope traffic

Atlantic Ocean ↔ Indian Ocean

Official transit statistics IMF PortWatch

Normal traffic

82 transits on 13 September · 7-day average 90.6 per day

of normal · 2025 average 89.5 per day

↑ 15%7 days vs previous 7

→ 0.2%30-day average vs normal

93.0per day, same week last year

82Transits · 13 Seplatest published day

90.67-day averagetransits per day

89.730-day average2690 transits in 30 days

89.5Normal · 2025average transits per day

IMF PortWatch counts ships that complete a transit, from satellite AIS. Latest published day: 13 September 2026 (5 days behind today); the series is updated weekly. Next release expected around 22 September. Methodology

Daily transits since 2019 · IMF PortWatch

Bars: transits per UTC day. Line: 7-day average. Numbered markers: events from the timeline below.

Vessel types last 30 days · IMF PortWatch

Tankers 566 21%
Container ships 550 20%
Dry bulk 1322 49%
General cargo 127 5%
Ro-ro 125 5%

On 13 Sep: Tankers 14 · Container ships 19 · Dry bulk 42 · General cargo 3 · Ro-ro 4

Timeline what moved the numbers

1
15 Dec 2023
Rerouting around Africa begins as lines avoid the Red Sea

Reuters

Latest news via Google News

17 Sep 2026, 15:23 UTC Bab al-Mandab chokepoint: What complete closure would mean for Pakistan Dawn
17 Sep 2026, 13:33 UTC Bab Al-Mandeb Shipping Traffic Slumps as Houthi Advance Raises Red Sea Risks Arab Times Kuwait News
17 Sep 2026, 13:22 UTC Bab al-Mandeb Strait’s shipping traffic comes to halt amid conflict in Yemen Anadolu Ajansı
17 Sep 2026, 08:41 UTC El Niño's Sting: Bulk Vessel Panama Canal Transits drop 22% Marine News Magazine
16 Sep 2026, 21:51 UTC Container Shipping Returns to Suez Despite Rising Red Sea Risks gCaptain
16 Sep 2026, 16:19 UTC In active defense! Houthis strengthen their positions near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait ᐉ News from Fakti.bg - World fakti.bg
16 Sep 2026, 10:47 UTC Houthi rebels capture strategic Red Sea islands, threatening Saudi shipping routes Crypto Briefing
16 Sep 2026, 08:14 UTC 45 vessels transit Suez Canal on Tuesday with 2.2 mln net tonnes - Urban & Transport - Egypt english.ahram.org.eg

Collected automatically from news media by keyword filters and not verified by StraitTraffic. Dated events that explain the numbers are in the timeline.

Live layer terrestrial AIS

Vessels right now and our own transit count

Positions received in the last 30 minutes from shore-based AIS receivers, and transits counted by StraitTraffic from those signals. Independent of the official statistics above.

No terrestrial AIS coverage in this zone.

Shore receivers do not reach this area, so there is no live map here. The official statistics above are based on satellite AIS and are unaffected.

How coverage works

Background

About Cape of Good Hope traffic

The Cape of Good Hope is not a strait but the alternative to one: when the Red Sea and the Suez Canal are considered unsafe, ships between Asia and Europe add ten to fourteen days and sail around the southern tip of Africa. Transit counts here mirror the disruptions in Bab el-Mandeb.

How transits are counted

This page shows the official daily count of ships rounding the Cape from IMF PortWatch, based on satellite AIS. There is no terrestrial AIS coverage offshore, so no live map is shown.