@searoute-ts/mcp

A Model Context Protocol server that exposes searoute-ts to AI agents, so they can compute real shortest sea routes ("how far is Shanghai to Rotterdam by sea, avoiding Suez?") instead of guessing.

It's a thin wrapper over the searoute-ts public API — no new routing logic — and accepts UN/LOCODE port codes (e.g. CNSHA) as well as [lon, lat] coordinates.

Tools

sea_route

Shortest maritime route between two points. Returns distance, optional duration, the canals/straits traversed, detour ratio, and the route GeoJSON.

| Argument | Type | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | origin, destination | port code string or [lon, lat] | required | | units | "nauticalmiles" | "kilometers" | "miles" | default nauticalmiles | | restrictions | passage name array | e.g. ["suez","babelmandeb"] to force Cape of Good Hope | | allowArctic | boolean | allow the (default-blocked) Northwest/Northeast Passages | | speedKnots | number | fills an estimated duration in hours | | vesselDraftMeters | number | auto-avoids canals too shallow for the vessel | | maxSnapDistanceKm | number | reject inputs too far from the sea network | | includeGeometry | boolean | include the route GeoJSON (default true) |

sea_route_alternatives

Up to k distinct alternatives, each blocking a different combination of major canals/straits (baseline vs. no-Suez vs. no-Panama …), sorted by distance — useful for comparing "via Suez" against "via Cape of Good Hope".

Install & run

npm install -g @searoute-ts/mcp   # or use npx, below

The server speaks MCP over stdio.

Claude Code / claude CLI

claude mcp add searoute -- npx -y @searoute-ts/mcp

Claude Desktop / generic MCP client config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "searoute": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@searoute-ts/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Example

"What's the sea distance from Shanghai to Rotterdam, and how much longer is it if we avoid the Suez Canal?"

The agent calls sea_route('CNSHA', 'NLRTM') (≈ 19,753 km via Suez) and sea_route('CNSHA', 'NLRTM', { restrictions: ['suez', 'babelmandeb'] }) (≈ 25,315 km via the Cape of Good Hope).

Develop

npm install
npm run build     # tsc -> dist/
npm test          # vitest — exercises the tool handlers
npm run dev       # run from source with tsx

License

MIT — see the root repository.