World's busiest ports


The world's busiest ports are commonly ranked by cargo tonnage and by volume of container shipment measured in TEUs. Since the 2000s, the Port of Shanghai has surpassed the Port of Singapore and the Port of Hong Kong to become the world's busiest port by both measures.

Busiest cargo ports

The busiest passenger port, by combined cruise ship and ferry passengers, is the Port of Helsinki. It overtook the Port of Dover in 2017.

Busiest canals

A study led by Bernd Blasius of the University of Oldenburg analyzed itineraries from 16,693 cargo ships for the entire year of 2009. They conducted their investigation using data from the Automatic Identification System and Lloyd's Register Fairplay by means of VHF receivers and GPS.
The study concluded Panama Canal to be the busiest in 2009. The Suez Canal came in second and Shanghai third.