Compute shortest oceangoing route distance in nautical miles.
AI agents call compute_distance to retrieve information from Searoute without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool queries maritime routing data to retrieve distance information. It performs a read-only computation and returns results without creating, modifying, deleting, or executing external operations. The blast radius of misuse is minimal—an attacker could only spam requests or gather geographic intelligence, neither of which causes damage.
From the tool's definition Tool computes and returns route distance data without modifying any state. Description explicitly states 'Compute shortest oceangoing route distance' — a calculation/retrieval operation with no side effects.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access compute_distance gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Searoute, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for compute_distance:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"compute_distance": {}
}
}compute_distance is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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Compute shortest oceangoing route distance in nautical miles. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Searoute MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Searoute MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for compute_distance: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Searoute. Nothing to install.
compute_distance is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the compute_distance rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for compute_distance. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
compute_distance is provided by the Searoute MCP server (project-harrison/searoute-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Start from Searoute, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.
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3 Searoute tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.