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PortWatch API - Final Status Report

Date: 2026-03-11 Status: ✅ API Working, ⚠️ Time-Series Data Unavailable via API

Summary

The PortWatch API integration is working for static/snapshot data. However, time-series data for monitoring changes over time is NOT available through the ArcGIS REST API.

✅ What Works

1. Static Port Data API

Endpoint: https://services9.arcgis.com/weJ1QsnbMYJlCHdG/arcgis/rest/services/PortWatch_ports_database/FeatureServer/0

Available Data:

  • Port information (name, location, coordinates)
  • Vessel counts (total, container, dry bulk, general cargo, RoRo, tanker)
  • Trade shares (% of country's maritime imports/exports)
  • Top 3 industries per port
  • 1,985 ports worldwide

Malaysian Ports Found: 41 ports + 16 offshore oil terminals

Key Findings:

Port Vessel Count Import Share Export Share
Port Klang 11,278 43.62% 46.00%
Tanjung Pelepas 5,470 7.19% 5.75%
Johor 4,269 5.87% 5.22%
Pengerang 2,093 6.95% 8.51%
Penang 1,787 2.22% 1.55%
Kuantan 1,644 3.39% 3.87%
Bintulu 813 0.49% 3.46%
Kemaman Harbor 481 0.86% 1.06%
Kota Kinabalu 163 0.17% 0.03%

Total Malaysia Maritime Trade Covered: 99.99% (imports), 99.98% (exports)

2. Historical Disruptions Data

Endpoint: https://services9.arcgis.com/weJ1QsnbMYJlCHdG/arcgis/rest/services/disruptions_view/FeatureServer/0

Available Data:

  • Historical disruption events (2018-2019)
  • Affected ports
  • Event types (drought, flood, conflict, etc.)
  • Alert levels
  • Affected areas

Note: This is historical data, not real-time. The Iran conflict (2026) is not yet in this database.

❌ What Doesn't Work (via API)

Time-Series Data

Attempted Endpoints:

  • Daily_Trade_Data_WLD - No layers available
  • Daily_Trade_Data_TEST4 - No layers available
  • Daily_Regional_Data - No layers available

Result: Cannot query daily/historical time-series data for monitoring port activity changes over time.

🔄 Workarounds for Time-Series Monitoring

Option 1: Self-Collected Snapshots

Collect API data periodically and build our own time-series:

# Run collector daily
/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin/uv run python src/monitoring/collector.py

# Data stored in: data/raw/malaysia_ports_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.json

# Compare snapshots to detect changes

Pros:

  • Uses working API
  • Automated via cron
  • Can track changes over time

Cons:

  • No pre-2026 historical data
  • Only as detailed as API provides (snapshot vessel counts)
  • API data may update weekly, not daily

Option 2: Manual CSV Downloads

Download daily time-series CSVs from PortWatch website:

URL: https://portwatch.imf.org/datasets/75619cb86e5f4beeb7dab9629d861acf_0/about

Steps:

  1. Navigate to dataset page
  2. Click "Download" → CSV format
  3. Extract Malaysian ports data
  4. Build time-series database

Pros:

  • Daily data available
  • Historical data back to 2019
  • Full detail (port calls, trade volumes)

Cons:

  • Manual process
  • No API automation (unless download URLs are stable)
  • Requires manual updates

Option 3: Alternative Data Sources

Consider other maritime data APIs:

  • MarineTraffic - Real-time vessel tracking
  • Port Authority data - Malaysian port statistics
  • Trade statistics - Government-reported trade data

📊 Current Collector Status

Working Features

  • ✅ API connection test
  • ✅ Fetch Malaysian ports
  • ✅ Sort by vessel count
  • ✅ Calculate totals and shares
  • ✅ Generate text summary
  • ✅ Save JSON data with timestamps
  • ✅ Collection history tracking

Test Results

✓ API connection successful
✓ Found 41 Malaysian ports
✓ Saved data to malaysia_ports_20260311_120030.json
✓ Summary saved to summary_20260311_120030.txt

Total Ports: 41
Total Vessels: 35,273
Combined Import Share: 99.99%
Combined Export Share: 99.98%

Data Files

/data/.openclaw/workspace/projects/Trade_Disruption/data/raw/
├── malaysia_ports_20260311_120030.json    (34KB)
└── summary_20260311_120030.txt            (1.4KB)

🎯 Recommendations

For Immediate Use (Iran Conflict Monitoring)

  1. Implement snapshot-based monitoring:

    • Run collector every 6-12 hours via cron
    • Build comparison logic to detect changes in vessel counts
    • Track percentage changes from baseline

  2. Use manual CSV downloads for historical baseline:

    • Download pre-conflict data (Jan-Feb 2026) from PortWatch
    • Parse and import into analysis pipeline
    • Calculate baseline metrics

  3. Monitor disruptions data:

    • Check disruptions API weekly for new entries
    • Alert if Iran/Strait of Hormuz appears in disruptions database

For Long-term Enhancement

  1. Contact PortWatch for API documentation:

    • Ask about time-series API access
    • Request API for daily port activity
    • Inquire about real-time data feeds

  2. Consider commercial maritime data APIs:

  3. Supplement with news monitoring:

    • Track Iran conflict developments
    • Correlate news events with port activity changes
    • Use web scraping for shipping news

📝 Next Actions

Immediate

  1. Set up cron job for snapshot collection (every 6-12 hours)
  2. Create baseline calculation module to compare snapshots
  3. Implement change detection (vessel count variations > X%)
  4. Create simple dashboard showing current vs previous snapshot

Short-term

  1. Download historical CSVs from PortWatch (manual)
  2. Build time-series database from CSV data
  3. Analyze pre-conflict vs post-conflict patterns

Medium-term

  1. Contact IMF/PortWatch for API enhancement requests
  2. Evaluate alternative data sources
  3. Build comprehensive monitoring system combining multiple sources

📞 Files Updated

  • ✅ src/data/portwatch_api.py - Working API wrapper
  • ✅ src/monitoring/collector.py - Working collector with snapshots
  • ✅ data/raw/ - Collected data files
  • ✅ API_WORKING.md - API documentation
  • ✅ API_STATUS_REPORT.md - This file

✅ Conclusion

PortWatch API is functional for static port data collection. The project can proceed with snapshot-based monitoring by collecting data periodically and comparing changes over time.

For full time-series analysis, manual CSV downloads or alternative data sources will be needed.

Status: Ready for cron setup and baseline collection