Canal intelligence · 31 Oct 2026
Live rules, alerts and traffic for the world's canals.
Draft limits, surcharges, wait times and traffic for Panama, Suez and five more passages. Built from official notices and published data, explained in plain English.
Canals we cover tap to open
- Rules changed recently
- Caution: delays or restrictions
- Reference page, no live status yet
Other chokepoints size = ships a day
- 10
- 60
- 200
- Down 15%+ on last year
Traffic: IMF PortWatch, 30-day average. Hover or tap a dot for its numbers.
Status board
Every canal at a glance
Status from official authority notices. Traffic: IMF PortWatch 30-day average to 18 Oct 2026, compared with the same period last year.
What's moving
The numbers behind this week's decisions
Panama: Canal Waters Time, September 2026
38 h
Average time from arrival to completing the transit, the highest since December 2023.
Panama: Gatun Lake level
86.8 ft
−0.2 ft vs the normal level for late October. The lake sets the draft limit.
ACP · 30 Oct 2026
Suez vs the Cape, 30-day average
42.3 vs 86.3
Transits a day through Suez and around the Cape of Good Hope.
IMF PortWatch · to 18 Oct 2026
Strait of Hormuz, 30-day average
3.4
transits a day, −96% vs the same period last year.
IMF PortWatch · to 18 Oct 2026
Canal Desk
Latest alerts
- Panama · A-39-2026 · 21 Oct 2026 Panama Canal reinstates last-minute reservations at the Panamax Locks Effective 21 October 2026, the ACP is again offering Last-Minute Reservations at the Panamax Locks. From booking dates beginning 3 January 2027, alliance swap and substitution rules extend to Super-category vessels. Vessels without a booking may still face extremely extensive delays.
- Suez · Periodical 29/2026 · 28 Sep 2026 Suez Canal gives vessels until the third transit to submit missing SCNT documents Vessels that submit missing documents no later than their third transit can now have earlier transits within six months of the first settled on Suez Canal Net Tonnage, under an amendment to Article 92 of the Rules of Navigation.
- Suez · Periodical 28/2026 · 7 Sep 2026 Suez Canal keeps waiting-area berthing charge at 5 US cents per GT per day until January 2027 The Suez Canal Authority has extended Periodical 1/2026, which sets mooring and berthing charges in its waiting areas at USD 0.05 per ton of gross tonnage per day, for six more months to 31 January 2027.
- Suez · Circular 2/2026 · 7 Jun 2026 Suez Canal raises temporary surcharges for most ship types from 15 July 2026 From 15 July 2026 the Suez Canal Authority charges higher temporary surcharges on most vessel types, from 12% for containerships to 37% for laden crude and product tankers. The SCA says the surcharges can be amended or cancelled with market conditions.
- Suez · Circular 1/2026 · 5 May 2026 Suez Canal moves to shore-based mooring and requires vessels to carry their own searchlight From 15 May 2026, mooring in the Suez Canal is done from shore stations with no mooring crew boarding, for a lump sum of USD 3,800 (2,500 GT and above) or USD 2,350 (below). Vessels must carry their own compliant searchlight or pay USD 500 per transit.
Planning a transit?
- Panama Canal Booking Slots and Auctions (2026): How to Secure a Transit Date
- Panama Canal Draft Limits and Gatun Lake: How Water Sets the Rules (2026)
- Panama Canal SOPEP and PCSOPEP Requirements (2026)
- Panama Canal Transit Requirements (2026 Guide)
- Suez Canal Transit Requirements & Documentation (2026)
- Kiel Canal Transit Procedures & Requirements (2026)
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Official sources
Every rule we show cites the authority notice it comes from: ACP advisories, SCA circulars and others. Every number shows its source and date.
Kept current
We check authority notice pages several times a day and refresh traffic, lake-level and weather data daily. Pages say when they were last checked.
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