Is there a live map of the Strait of Hormuz?

Yes. Public AIS sites including MarineTraffic show vessels in the strait in near real time. For counts rather than a map, IMF PortWatch publishes daily transit numbers.

How many ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz per day?

Normally in the region of 85 to 140 depending on the source and what it counts. During the current disruption recent daily counts have been far lower. Check a live tracker for today.

Why do different sources report different traffic numbers?

Different baselines, different vessel classes, different boundary lines and the fact that some vessels do not transmit AIS. Compare a single source over time rather than across sources.

Tracking traffic through the strait

Which tools show what is actually moving, how to read them, and why two reputable sources can give you different numbers for the same week.

What AIS actually shows you

Almost every commercial vessel broadcasts its identity, position, course and speed over AIS. Public tracking sites collect those broadcasts and put them on a map, which is why you can watch traffic through a strait from a laptop.

It is genuinely remarkable and slightly misleading. AIS shows you what is transmitting. It does not show you what is there.

Why counts disagree

This is the part worth understanding before quoting anyone’s figure.

Different baselines: IMF PortWatch works from about 85 transits a day pre-crisis; other analysts cite around 140. They are counting different vessel classes.
Dark shipping: Vessels do turn AIS off. Counts based on transmissions understate real movement and get revised upward later.
Different boundaries: Where you draw the line across the strait changes what counts as a transit.
Revision lag: Weekly figures are preliminary. Lloyd’s List revises as non-transmitting vessels are identified.

How to read a transit count sensibly

Compare like with like: the same source over time, not one source against another. A series from a single provider will show the trend accurately even if its absolute level differs from someone else’s.

And prefer sources that publish their method. A number with a stated counting rule is worth more than a larger number with none. Current conditions are summarised here, with everything attributed.

What a live map will not tell you

Whether a ship is loaded or in ballast, what it is carrying, and why it changed course. Those come from cargo tracking and market reporting, not AIS. A dramatic-looking map is often a normal shipping day.

Common questions

Is there a live map of the Strait of Hormuz?: Yes. Public AIS sites including MarineTraffic show vessels in the strait in near real time. For counts rather than a map, IMF PortWatch publishes daily transit numbers.
How many ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz per day?: Normally in the region of 85 to 140 depending on the source and what it counts. During the current disruption recent daily counts have been far lower. Check a live tracker for today.
Why do different sources report different traffic numbers?: Different baselines, different vessel classes, different boundary lines and the fact that some vessels do not transmit AIS. Compare a single source over time rather than across sources.