25:["$","title",null,{"children":"Access Restrictions to Ports of the World | Vekta Group | Observable"}] 49:T1054,{ const container = yield htl.html`

Filter by Harbor Size:

`; const map = L.map(container.querySelector("#map")); // Add black-and-white tile layer L.tileLayer("https://{s}.basemaps.cartocdn.com/light_all/{z}/{x}/{y}{r}.png", { attribution: "© OpenStreetMap contributors © CARTO", subdomains: "abcd", }).addTo(map); let geoJsonLayer; // Define color mapping and radius mapping for harbor sizes (normalized to lowercase) const harborColors = { "very small": "#19647E", // Dark Blue "small": "#28AFB0", // Teal "medium": "#F4D35E", // Yellow "large": "#EE964B" // Orange }; const harborRadii = { "very small": 1, "small": 2, "medium": 3, "large": 5 }; function updateMap(selectedSize) { if (geoJsonLayer) { map.removeLayer(geoJsonLayer); } // Filter data based on selected size using 'Harbor Size' (normalize to lowercase) const filteredData = selectedSize === "all" ? largePorts1 : { ...largePorts1, features: largePorts1.features.filter(feature => { const size = (feature.properties["Harbor Size"] || "").trim().toLowerCase(); return size === selectedSize.toLowerCase(); }) }; geoJsonLayer = L.geoJSON(filteredData, { pointToLayer: function (feature, latlng) { const harborSize = (feature.properties["Harbor Size"] || "").trim().toLowerCase(); const color = harborColors[harborSize] || "#FF0000"; // Default to red if undefined const radius = harborRadii[harborSize] || 1; // Default to smallest radius if undefined return L.circleMarker(latlng, { radius: radius, fillColor: color, color: color, weight: 1, opacity: 1, fillOpacity: 1 }); }, onEachFeature: function (feature, layer) { if (feature.properties) { const portName = feature.properties["Main Port Name"] || "Unknown Port"; const restriction = feature.properties["Restriction type"] || "Unknown"; const harborSize = feature.properties["Harbor Size"] || "Unknown"; layer.bindTooltip( `Port: ${portName}
Size: ${harborSize}
Restriction: ${restriction}`, { tip: true } ); } } }).addTo(map); if (filteredData.features.length > 0) { map.fitBounds(geoJsonLayer.getBounds(), { maxZoom: 10 }); } updateLegend(); } // Function to update the legend function updateLegend() { if (document.querySelector(".legend")) { document.querySelector(".legend").remove(); } const legend = L.control({ position: "bottomright" }); legend.onAdd = function () { const div = L.DomUtil.create("div", "legend"); div.innerHTML = "Harbor Sizes
"; Object.entries(harborColors).forEach(([size, color]) => { div.innerHTML += `${size.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + size.slice(1)}
`; }); div.style.backgroundColor = "white"; div.style.padding = "8px"; div.style.border = "2px solid black"; div.style.borderRadius = "5px"; div.style.boxShadow = "2px 2px 5px rgba(0,0,0,0.3)"; div.style.fontSize = "12px"; return div; }; legend.addTo(map); } updateMap("all"); container.querySelector("#port-filter").addEventListener("change", (event) => { updateMap(event.target.value); }); updateLegend(); } 4a:T971,When exploring the interactive map, categories of access restriction are shown. On average, 82% of all ports have at least one type of restriction to access. There is a slight positive correlation between port size and restricted access, with 84% of very small ports having access restrictions, compared to 93% of large ports.

Dealing with restrictions requires advanced planning to ensure conditions are suitable for docking. Unsuitable conditions can lead to shipping delay or rerouting to a different port, elongating travel time and increasing costs. The graph below shows the breakdown of port access restrictions by continent.

The WPI has provided information about three types of environmental access restrictions: ice, tide and swell. Ice can restrict port access entirely, through passage blockage. Of the 623 ports that can be blocked by ice, only 12 of them have been confirmed to have an icebreaker on site. Although Europe has a greater number of ports within the Arctic circle, those in North America are more heavily impacted by ice. North America has more ports impacted by ice than all other continents combined, with over 30% of their own ports impacted. This is because European ports are thermally protected by the gulf stream, which provides warmer water than in North America at similar latitudes.

Tidal restrictions mean that ports will have limited time windows for docking and deployment, restricting accessibility at specific times each day. The presence of tides does not automatically make them a restriction, instead it is the extremity at which they occur. As tides are a global phenomenon, tidal restrictions affect ports in every continent, with 22% of ports impacted around the world.

Swell is caused by winds blowing across long distances, because of this ports that face prevailing winds tend to have a higher swell. This is an issue when swell approaches coastlines, as it interacts with the seafloor causing waves to increase and break. Large vessels out at sea are well equipped to deal with swell, yet this coastal interaction affects manoeuvrability of vessels trying to access the ports. Many ports have breakwaters to dissipate this wave energy, and special docking procedures are sometimes followed. 48% of Africa's ports are impacted by swell, likely because many are located on the west coast, therefore exposed to prevailing winds.4b:T400,Plot.plot({ x: { axis: "bottom", // Position x-axis at the bottom grid: true, // Show grid on the x-axis domain: ["Europe", "North America", "Asia", "Africa", "South America", "Oceania"] // Custom order }, y: { tickFormat: "s", // Format y-axis with short scale (e.g., 1k, 10k) grid: true, // Show grid on the y-axis label: "Number of Harbours", labelAnchor:"center"// Label for the y-axis }, color: { legend: true, // Show legend for colors domain: ["Ice", "Tide", "Swell"], // Match conditions exactly range: ["#A7C7E7", "#4A90E2", "#003366"] // Light to dark blue }, marks: [ Plot.barY(data, { x: "Continent", // Use 'Continent' for the x-axis y: "value", // Use 'value' (number of harbors) for the y-axis fill: "Condition", // Use 'Condition' to color the bars sort: "ascending", tip: true }), Plot.ruleY([0]) // Add a horizontal line at Y=0 (baseline) ] }) 4c:T585,data = [ { Percentage: 0, Continent: "Africa", Condition: "Ice", value: 0}, { Percentage: 20.37, Continent: "Africa", Condition: "Tide", value: 55}, { Percentage: 47.78, Continent: "Africa", Condition: "Swell", value: 129}, { Percentage: 9/18 , Continent: "Asia", Condition: "Ice", value: 78}, { Percentage: 26.71 , Continent: "Asia", Condition: "Tide", value: 227}, { Percentage: 30.12, Continent: "Asia", Condition: "Swell", value: 256 }, { Percentage: 18.59, Continent: "Europe", Condition: "Ice", value: 198}, { Percentage: 25.73, Continent: "Europe", Condition: "Tide", value: 274}, { Percentage: 16.90, Continent: "Europe", Condition: "Swell", value: 180 }, { Percentage: 30.54, Continent: "North America", Condition: "Ice", value: 331 }, { Percentage: 13.28, Continent: "North America", Condition: "Tide", value: 144 }, { Percentage: 8.76 , Continent: "North America", Condition: "Swell", value: 95}, { Percentage: 1.24, Continent: "Oceania", Condition: "Ice", value: 2 }, { Percentage: 27.95 , Continent: "Oceania", Condition: "Tide", value: 45, }, { Percentage: 28.57 , Continent: "Oceania", Condition: "Swell", value: 46 }, { Percentage: 0.86, Continent: "South America", Condition: "Ice", value: 2 }, { Percentage: 23.71, Continent: "South America", Condition: "Tide", value: 55 }, { Percentage: 21.55, Continent: "South America", Condition: "Swell", value: 50 } ] 4d:[{"id":"12903f39d6a6869e25d374c244382a4394ab471777cbe69eeb04ca1db87975f656360a8d66c84426fdc1e953a47b345709844c7ded1727c0bbee9b47cf642d80","href":"https://static.observableusercontent.com/files/12903f39d6a6869e25d374c244382a4394ab471777cbe69eeb04ca1db87975f656360a8d66c84426fdc1e953a47b345709844c7ded1727c0bbee9b47cf642d80","name":"WPI - with Restrictions@1.geojson","type":"application/geo+json","lastModified":1741100558114.31,"size":2032652}] 29:{"id":"5cf82b542c5f52ec","slug":null,"title":"Access Restrictions to Ports of the World","thumbnail":"09050f973f9dc41aee8b5343982c5ff580d4b6609b58b3ea8d7d82fcf3b9bc85","access_level":"public","create_time":"$D2025-03-04T15:02:38.114Z","update_time":"$D2025-03-27T15:37:27.554Z","view_time":null,"first_public_time":"$D2025-03-12T11:53:08.290Z","has_unpublished_edits":null,"fork":true,"stars":0,"starred":false,"owner":{"type":"team","id":"3594fe6877d14711","login":"vekta-group","name":"Vekta Group","avatar_url":"https://avatars-next.observableusercontent.com/13f6934c06a2c847905f92615bfe639e05a96b39badbe0036f3139b0c24ef101","tier":"starter_2024","bio":"","followed_by_you":false,"follows_you":false},"version":582,"publish_version":null,"role":null,"authored":false,"authors":[{"type":"individual","id":"353739170940576d","login":"vekta-group","name":"Vekta Group","avatar_url":"https://avatars-next.observableusercontent.com/13f6934c06a2c847905f92615bfe639e05a96b39badbe0036f3139b0c24ef101","tier":null,"bio":"","followed_by_you":false,"follows_you":false}],"members":[{"type":"individual","id":"353739170940576d","login":"vekta-group","name":"Vekta Group","avatar_url":"https://avatars-next.observableusercontent.com/13f6934c06a2c847905f92615bfe639e05a96b39badbe0036f3139b0c24ef101","tier":null,"role":"editor"},{"type":"team","id":"3594fe6877d14711","login":"vekta-group","name":"Vekta Group","avatar_url":"https://avatars-next.observableusercontent.com/13f6934c06a2c847905f92615bfe639e05a96b39badbe0036f3139b0c24ef101","tier":"starter_2024","role":"viewer"}],"comments":[],"custom_thumbnail":true,"trashed":false,"lapsed":null,"subscribed":null,"forks":0,"collection":{"id":"a5603c9dcf7492ca","slug":"vekta-digital-insights","title":"Vekta Digital Insights ","owner":{"id":"3594fe6877d14711","login":"vekta-group","name":"Vekta Group"}},"type":"notebook","body":{"titling":"auto","title":"Access Restrictions to Ports of the World","cells":[{"id":466,"value":"# Access Restrictions to Ports of the World","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","tool":"$undefined","providerMetadata":"$undefined","attachments":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":4,"value":"Vekta Insights for March will be focused on ports, and how their infrastructure can be harnessed for renewable energy. The data used has been taken from the World Port Index (WPI). \n

\nThis first week will show an overview of port size and distribution across the globe, followed by an analysis of environmental port access restrictions. Data for the 11 ports of Antarctica has been removed for these visualisations, as they are primarily used for research purposes. ","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","tool":"$undefined","providerMetadata":"$undefined","attachments":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":486,"value":"## Global Distribution of Ports and their Size","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","tool":"$undefined","providerMetadata":"$undefined","attachments":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":488,"value":"Ports are the primary access points for international trade, serving to connect diverse regions around the world. Many ports are therefore strategically positioned along major international trade routes, making them essential hubs. \n

\nThe size categories of ports in this dataset is determined by the WPI, taking into account several applicable factors such as total area, facilities available and wharf space. When hovering over ports in the interactive map, they also show restrictions(s) associated with docking. This will be explored in further detail below. \n

\nFiltering by harbour size, we can see a high density of large ports in Europe. Additionally, there is a high proportion of large ports in Japan, particularly in the south. This shows that the majority of large ports situated near areas of high population density. North America has the most ports of any continent, with over 1000 in total. ","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","tool":"$undefined","providerMetadata":"$undefined","attachments":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":220,"value":"$49","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","tool":"$undefined","providerMetadata":"$undefined","attachments":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":493,"value":"## Port Access Restrictions","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","tool":"$undefined","providerMetadata":"$undefined","attachments":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":454,"value":"$4a","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","tool":"$undefined","providerMetadata":"$undefined","attachments":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":386,"value":"$4b","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","tool":"$undefined","providerMetadata":"$undefined","attachments":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":526,"value":"## Appendix","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","tool":"$undefined","providerMetadata":"$undefined","attachments":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":574,"value":"### Plot 1: Interactive Map","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","tool":"$undefined","providerMetadata":"$undefined","attachments":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":219,"value":"largePorts1 = FileAttachment(\"WPI - with Restrictions@1.geojson\").json()","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","tool":"$undefined","providerMetadata":"$undefined","attachments":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":577,"value":"### Plot 2: Stacked Bar Chart","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","tool":"$undefined","providerMetadata":"$undefined","attachments":"$undefined","output":"","database":"$undefined"},{"id":383,"value":"$4c","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","tool":"$undefined","providerMetadata":"$undefined","attachments":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":580,"value":"html``","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","tool":"$undefined","providerMetadata":"$undefined","attachments":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"}],"files":"$W4d","stdlib":"1"}} 24:null