South Houston, Texas port and ships, live

The Index rates Sinco a very small river harbour. Its entrance channel is at least 11 m deep. Houston Ship Channel, 5 mi away, is one of the major ports the map marks.

• Sinco3.7 mi from the centreVery small harbour · counted on the page for Pasadena
• Pasadena3.7 mi from the centreVery small harbour · counted on the page for Pasadena
• Norsworthy5.6 mi from the centreVery small harbour · counted on the page for Pasadena

In 24 hours of AIS recorded Oct 12 – 19, the map heard 261 different ships within 6 mi of Sinco, one of the best-covered harbours on the map.

• NGA’s World Port Index rates a harbour by its area, facilities and wharf space when it was last surveyed, not by its traffic, so a busy terminal can be rated small. Where it doesn’t know about a facility it says so, and only what it marks as there is listed here.
• AIS is heard by receivers on shore, so coverage follows where they are: ships far out at sea, or off coasts without one, don’t show. Warships and some others switch it off, and a ship’s type and destination are typed in by its crew.
• Harbours from NGA’s World Port Index (Pub. 150), downloaded on Oct 19, 2026. The major ports and chokepoints are the map’s own reference list.

How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Live ship tracker, Shipping chokepoints