Special precision and accuracy are always required to prevent the ship from running aground by calculating the under keel clearance when navigating ships in shallow water. Among the constituent parts of the underkeel clearance, the ship’s squat occupies a special place. Unlike other components of the underkeel clearance, such as tidal water level, water density, sea waves, the presence of a ship’s list, air temperature and pressure, etc., there is no 100% certainty in determining the squat of a ship in shallow water conditions. Today, navigators, based on their own experience, use many different methods to calculate the squat of ships. Therefore, the authors of this article considered the comparative characteristics of the results obtained from different methods of squat calculation, and performed a comparative analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of each method from the perspective of practical use during navigation in shallow water conditions. This article aims to enable navigators to approach the results of squat calculations more reasonably, which, in turn, will contribute to increasing the accuracy of existing keel space calculations and enhancing the overall safety of navigation in shallow water conditions.