Port Control
At night, a container ship comes alongside a quay with orange cranes, a tug pushing at her bow. On the misty water, lit lines run from a control console to the berth.

Run the traffic of a busy seaport from the control room.

Ships cannot stop, tides open and close the door, and the port never sleeps. From the makers of Rail Route.

The job

You are Port Control

The vessel traffic service of a busy harbour. Every ship calls you on the radio, and every answer is yours.

  • Ships cannot stop

    A laden container ship needs kilometres to slow down. Conflicts have to be seen early and solved before two hulls want the same water.

  • The tide is the timetable

    Deep ships only clear the channel near high water. One-way fairways, locks and swing bridges open and close the way in.

  • Berths, pilots, tugs

    Every call needs a berth, a pilot to bring her in and tugs to put her alongside. You decide who gets them, and when.

  • Everything on VHF

    Ships call in, ask, confirm and complain on the radio. The log tells the story of your shift.

  • From orders to rules

    Start by giving every order by hand. As the port grows, turn what you do into standing rules, the way Rail Route players automate their lines.

  • The port never sleeps

    Liner calls on contract, spot traffic in between, and a night shift that does not end. Dark water, lit lanes, colour-coded ships.

In development

Straight from the prototype

The game's map at night: lit lanes run past North Quay and its cranes, the container ship Nordic Star follows the entry lane, and the VHF log lists the radio calls.
Nordic Star in the entry lane, North Quay 1 above, the VHF log bottom left. A prototype build from September 2026: everything here will change.

From the makers of Rail Route

Rail Route, on water

Rail Route put a quarter of a million players in a train dispatcher's chair. Port Control takes that control room to sea.

Channels are block sections, berths are platforms, the tide is the timetable. If you have ever held a train at a signal to let an express through, you already know half the job. The other half is a ship that cannot brake.

Rail Route on Steam

Dev log

Notes from the build

All dev logs

Stand by

Follow the build

One email per dev log, and one on the day the Steam page opens. Questions and ideas are welcome on the forum.