Port Congestion Tracker — Live Wait Times at 7 Major Ports
Free, AIS-based port congestion tracking across the world's busiest container ports. Compare vessels at anchor, anchorage waiting time, berth occupancy and delay risk side by side — built from live vessel signals rather than monthly reports. Vessel positions refresh every few minutes; waiting times and congestion levels are recalculated every four hours.
PortInsight Anchorage Index: monthly comparison of all ports
Port congestion today (as of 8 Oct 2026, UTC)
| Port | Congestion | Commercial vessels at anchor | Median time at anchorage (24h, excl. bunkering) | Berth occupancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port of Antwerp | Moderate congestion | 9 | 7.3 hours | 83% |
| Port of Hamburg | Moderate congestion | 6 | 7.3 hours | — |
| Port of Yokohama | Low congestion | 24 | 13.2 hours | 48% |
| Port of Busan | Moderate congestion | 20 | 31.0 hours | 37% |
| Port of Rotterdam | Low congestion | 50 | 17.8 hours | 78% |
| Port of Singapore | Moderate congestion | 290 | 17.9 hours | 92% |
| Port of Los Angeles | Moderate congestion | 11 | 20.8 hours (7 days) | 64% |
Measured from public AIS data: time spent at anchor inside the port area by commercial vessels (IMO number, 100 m and longer), with bunkering anchorages excluded from the headline figure. It covers all anchorage time — including waiting for orders — not only the queue for a berth, so it is a different measure from the berth-queue figures published elsewhere and can read higher or lower than them. Ships that went straight to a berth are not in the median at all, so the share of calls that anchored is the denominator it should be read against — it is not comparable with a figure averaged over every arrival, or with whole-turnaround time. Figures are a dated snapshot; each port's live tracker updates continuously.
Ports tracked by PortInsight.io
| Port | Country | UN/LOCODE | What the tracker shows | Live demurrage cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port of Singapore | Singapore | SGSIN | Free live Singapore port congestion today: 300–500 vessels at anchor, real-time wait times, berth occupancy and delay risk from AIS. Updated through the day. | Singapore demurrage counter |
| Port of Rotterdam | Netherlands | NLRTM | Free live Rotterdam port congestion today: vessel wait times, ships at anchor, berth occupancy and delay risk for Europe's busiest container port. Updated through the day. | Rotterdam demurrage counter |
| Port of Los Angeles | USA | USLAX | Free live Los Angeles port congestion today: San Pedro Bay vessel wait times, ships at anchor, berth occupancy and delay risk for LA & Long Beach, from AIS. | Los Angeles demurrage counter |
| Port of Yokohama | Japan | JPYOK | Free live Yokohama port congestion today: Tokyo Bay vessel wait times, ships at anchor, berth occupancy and delay risk. Updated through the day. | Yokohama demurrage counter |
| Port of Antwerp | Belgium | BEANR | Free live Antwerp port congestion today: Scheldt vessel wait times, ships at anchor, berth occupancy and delay risk. Updated through the day. | Antwerp demurrage counter |
| Port of Hamburg | Germany | DEHAM | Free live Hamburg port congestion today: Elbe vessel wait times, ships at anchor, berth occupancy and delay risk. Updated through the day. | Hamburg demurrage counter |
| Port of Busan | South Korea | KRPUS | Free live Busan port congestion today: vessel wait times, ships at anchor, berth occupancy and delay risk from AIS. Updated through the day. | Busan demurrage counter |
What the tracker measures
- Vessels at anchor — live count of ships holding in each monitored anchorage zone.
- Anchorage wait time — mean and median hours from anchoring to berthing, with 24h, 7d and 30d baselines.
- Berth occupancy — time-weighted share of berths occupied by moored vessels.
- Total port time — measured entry-to-exit turnaround for commercial vessels, excluding passing traffic and small craft.
- Delay risk — a congestion level (low, moderate, high, severe) combining waiting time, occupancy and weather conditions.
- Estimated demurrage exposure — the cost currently accruing across waiting vessels, based on vessel-type day rates.
What these numbers are, and what they aren't
We measure time at anchorage: from the moment a ship drops anchor inside a monitored zone until it leaves. That covers waiting for a berth, waiting for orders and waiting for bunkers — so our figures run higher than sources measuring only the berth queue. Bunkering and lay-up anchorages are excluded from the headline and reported separately.
Los Angeles needs a caveat. What we measure in San Pedro Bay is tanker and bulk anchorage. Container ships hold position offshore under the port's vessel queuing system, outside our monitored area. In September our median read 23.9 hours while Port Optimizer reported 0.0 days awaiting berth on the 17th. Both are true; they count different ships.
Busan carries the thinnest sample of the seven. Its monthly median has come in well below what external sources reported for the same period. We have not established whether that is a real difference or an artefact of the sample size, so we publish it flagged rather than quietly dropping it.
A port showing a countdown is still accumulating history — trend comparisons need four weeks.
Frequently asked questions about port congestion
What is a port congestion tracker?
A port congestion tracker monitors how many vessels are waiting, how long they wait before berthing, and how full the berths are at a given port. PortInsight builds this from AIS transponder signals, so the numbers reflect observed vessel behaviour rather than self-reported terminal statistics.
Which ports can I track for free?
PortInsight currently tracks 7 major container ports with live AIS coverage: Singapore, Rotterdam, Los Angeles, Yokohama, Antwerp, Hamburg, Busan. Every port page is free to view, with live vessel counts, anchorage wait times and berth occupancy.
How often is the port congestion data updated?
AIS positions are collected continuously and port statistics are recalculated every 3–5 minutes. Rolling 24-hour, 7-day and 30-day baselines are recomputed so you can see whether current waiting times are unusual for that port.
Is there a real-time port congestion map?
Yes — the port congestion map at /map plots every tracked port at once, each coloured by its current congestion level and labelled with its median time at anchorage. Each individual port page then opens a live vessel map of that harbour, showing anchored, moored and in-transit ships with delay risk shading and anchorage heatmaps. Both use the same AIS feed as the congestion statistics.
How is vessel waiting time measured?
PortInsight measures time at anchorage: from the moment a vessel drops anchor inside a monitored anchorage zone until it leaves that anchorage. It covers all anchorage time — waiting for a berth, for orders or for bunkers — with bunkering anchorages reported separately, so the figure is a different measure from the berth-queue numbers published elsewhere and can read higher or lower than them. Both mean and median are reported so a handful of very long stays does not distort the picture.
Can I estimate the cost of a port delay?
Yes — the free demurrage and delay cost estimator converts waiting hours into container demurrage or vessel day-rate exposure using the live congestion figures from the tracked ports.