Ais movement. Real-time ship locations

MarineTraffic - what is it?

Marine traffic is a shareware service to track the location of a vessel online. On the world map you can find any ships that are in port or at sea. In the service options you can also track the location of the vessel by its name in real time.
When you select a vessel on the map, a window pops up with information about the vessel online:

• ship name
• type of vessel (container, tanker, passenger ship, etc.)
• ship status
• ship speed
• ship course
• ship's draft

Operating principle of Marine traffic and AIS systems

Nowadays, almost all ships are equipped with an automatic identification system, AIS, which allows you to track the ship and avoid collisions between ships. At what maximum distance can a ship be tracked on a map? It all depends on the height of the antenna located on the ship itself and at the nearest station on land. Conventional AIS stations cover a range of about 40 nautical miles (about 75 km). In some cases, the location of the ship can be tracked at a distance of 200 miles, and this is, not a little, 370 km. But this is the case if the AIS station is located high above sea level, for example on a mountain, and the ship itself is equipped with a good antenna. Thus, anyone can track a vessel online using the Marinetraffic service.

How to track a ship on the map?

If you have the name of a ship, the easiest way to find out the ship's location is to enter it in the map search and the system will immediately show the ship's position and information about it. If you know that the ship has not yet left a certain port or it could not have gone far from it, you can try to find the desired port in the same search form. And then use the familiar mouse actions to point at all the vessels and view information about them. Also, to make your search easier, you can filter ships by type. For example, select only passenger, fishing or cargo ships. The service is intuitive and if you have the skills to use a map, then finding out the location of the vessel in real time will not be difficult for you.

On this page you can watch the movement of sea and river vessels in real time.

AIS (Automatic Identification System) - in shipping, a system used to identify ships, their dimensions, heading and other data using VHF/VHF radio waves.

Recently, there has been a tendency to interpret AIS as an Automatic Information System (English: AIS Automatic Information System), which is associated with the expansion of the functionality of the system compared to the ordinary task of identifying vessels.

In accordance with the SOLAS 74/88 Convention, it is mandatory for ships with a displacement of more than 300 register tons on international voyages, ships with a displacement of more than 500 register tons not engaged in international voyages and all passenger ships. Vessels and yachts with a smaller displacement can be equipped with a class B device. Data transmission is carried out on international communication channels AIS 1 and AIS 2 in the SOTDMA protocol (Self Organizing Time Division Multiple Accsess). Frequency modulation with GMSK keying is used.
Purpose

AIS is designed to increase the level of navigation safety, efficiency of navigation and operation of the vessel traffic control center (VTCS), protection environment, providing the following functions:

As a means of preventing collisions in ship-to-ship mode;
as a means of obtaining information about the vessel and cargo by competent coastal services;
as a VTS tool in ship-to-shore mode for controlling vessel traffic;
as a means of monitoring and tracking ships, as well as in search and rescue (SAR) operations.

AIS components

The AIS system includes the following components:

VHF transmitter,
one - two VHF receivers,
global satellite navigation receiver (for example, GPS, GLONASS), for Russia the GLONASS module in the AIS device is strictly mandatory, the main source of coordinates. GPS is auxiliary and can be taken from the GPS receiver via the NMEA bus;
modulator/demodulator (converter of analogue data to digital and vice versa),
microprocessor based controller
equipment for input/output of information to control elements

Operating principle of AIS
System Overview from US Coast Guard

The operation of AIS is based on the reception and transmission of messages via VHF waves. The AIS transmitter operates at longer wavelengths than radars, which allows the exchange of information not only over direct distances, but also in areas with obstacles in the form of small objects, as well as in bad weather conditions. Although one radio channel is sufficient, some AIS systems transmit and receive on two radio channels in order to avoid interference problems and not disrupt the communication of other objects. AIS messages may contain:

Identification information about the object,
information about the state of the object, received automatically from the object’s control elements (including from some electro-radio navigation devices),
information about geographic and time coordinates that AIS receives from global navigation satellite system,
information entered manually by facility maintenance personnel (safety-related).

The transfer of additional text information between AIS terminals (paging) is provided. Transmission of such information is possible both to all terminals within the range, and to one specific terminal.

In order to ensure the unification and standardization of AIS, the International Radio Regulations stipulate two channels for use for AIS purposes: AIS-1 (87V - 161.975 MHz) and AIS-2 (88V - 162.025 MHz), which should be used everywhere, with the exception of regions with special frequency regulation.

The digital information transmission rate in the AIS channel is selected at 9600 bps.

The operation of each AIS station (mobile or base) is strictly synchronized to UTC time with an error of no more than 10 μs from the built-in GNSS receiver (in the Russian Federation, according to signals from the combined GLONASS/GPS GNSS receiver). To transmit information, continuously repeating frames lasting 1 minute are used, which are divided into 2250 slots (time intervals) each lasting 26.67 ms.

Text uses 6-bit ASCII codes.

Displaying information about the environment in modern AIS is possible in 2 modes - both textual in the form of a table with a list of nearby vessels and their data, and in the form of a simplified schematic map depicting the relative positions of vessels and distances to them (calculated automatically based on the data transmitted by them geographic coordinates.) AIS is included in the list of equipment that is required to be provided with uninterruptible battery power.
Message structure
Static information

MMSI number
International Maritime Organization (IMO) number
Radio call sign and name of the craft
Dimensions
Type of craft
Antenna location data (from GNSS Glonass or GPS)

Data is transmitted every 6 minutes
Dynamic information

Location (latitude and longitude)
Time (UTC)
Age of information (how long ago it was updated)
True heading (relative to the ground), heading angle
True speed
Roll angle, trim
Pitch angle
Angular velocity turn
Navigation status (for example: Unable to steer or Limited ability to maneuver)

And other information from repeaters and sensors of electro-radio navigation devices and systems
Other information

Destination
Arrival time (ETA)
Vessel draft
Cargo information (cargo class/category)
Number of people on board
Messages for warning and safety of cargo transportation

The throughput of each channel is up to 2000 messages per minute.

Source wikipedia

MarineTraffic

This open, community project is designed to collect and present data that can be used in research such as:
- Study of maritime telecommunications regarding efficiency and propagation parameters
- Modeling ship traffic to assist in maritime safety and resolve critical situations
- Interactive Information Systems design
- Design of databases that provide information in real time
- Statistical processing of port traffic using applications in operational research
- Development of applications for identifying sources of pollution
- Development of efficient algorithms for sea route and estimation to determine the estimated time of arrival of the vessel
- Correlation of the received information with meteorological data
- Cooperation with Institutes involved in environmental protection.
This project provides free, real-time information to the public about ship movements primarily along the coastlines of many countries around the world.
The project is currently being organized by the Department of Products and Systems Engineering, University of the Aegean, Greece.
Primary data collection is based on the Automatic Identification System (AIS).
There is a constant search for partners to work in the community.
They will have an AIS receiver installed and will be able to share their area data with others to cover as many destinations and ports around the world as possible.

The system is built on the basis of AIS (Automatic Identification System). Since December 2004, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has required that every ship over 299 GT be equipped with an AIS transmitter, which transmits position, speed, course and various static information such as the ship's name, dimensions and flight details.

AIS was originally intended to help ships avoid collisions and also to assist port authorities to better manage maritime traffic.
The AIS transponder on board a vessel includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver and a VHF transmitter that transmits data on the vessel's movement on two channels (frequencies 161.975 MHz and 162.025 MHz) and makes this data available to the public. Other vessels or base stations can receive this information and, using special software, display the vessel's location on a chartplotter or computer.

Typically, ships with an SAI receiver connected to an external antenna located 15 m above sea level will receive information in a range of 15-20 nautical miles. A base station located at a higher altitude can extend the reception range to 40-60 nautical miles, even over mountains, depending on terrain, antenna type, obstacles around the antenna and weather conditions. Most important factor is the height of the antenna placement. The higher the better. For example, an antenna located on a mountain at an altitude of 700 m can receive signals from ships at a distance of 200 nautical miles!
Base stations that reliably cover a range of 40 nautical miles can periodically receive signals from more distant ships.

The base station is equipped with a marine band antenna, an AIS receiver and a computer connected to the Internet.
The AIS device receives data, which is processed using simple software on a PC, and then this data is sent to a central database via a web service. The software is free to interested users under the GNU license.
The data received by the AIS receiver is encoded into a single NMEA sentence (64-bit plain text).
Example: !AIVDM,1,1,B,1INS<8@P001cnWFEdSmh00bT0000,0*38
Messages include three main types:
1. Dynamic information - vessel position, speed, current position, course and rate of turn.
2. Static information - vessel name, IMO number, MMSI, dimensions.
3. Special information - purpose, ETA and projects.

The central database receives and processes a large amount of data, and stores the most important parts of it. It also includes port and area geographic information, photographs of the vessel and other information. The current positions of the vessel and/or track are displayed on the map using the Google map API.

The received data is loaded into the database in real time and, therefore, it is immediately highlighted on the map. However, some positions shown on the chart may not be constantly updated (for example, when a ship moves out of range). Vessel positions shown on the chart may be up to 1 hour out of date.

The MarineTraffic system only covers certain coastal areas where land-based AIS receiving base stations are installed.
Possible reasons why ship positions are not displayed on the map are as follows:
- The vessel is not equipped with an AIS transponder, the transponder does not work or does not work correctly;
- The vessel is in an area where there is no base AIS receiving station nearby;
- The transponder power is not sufficient for normal reception of signals by the ground station. The power of class A transponders is much lower than the power of class B transponders.
It also depends on the type and height of the antenna and the type of cable.
- AIS transponder is not configured correctly.

Map icons may be slow to display. This may be due to too many vessels being displayed, web technology, javascript and web browsers.
The Internet Explorer browser (especially version 6 and older) is very ineffective in web applications of this kind.
The following browsers show significantly better performance and we suggest using one of them: Opera, Chrome, Firefox.

The system can receive the positions of vessels that have not yet transmitted static information (name, dimensions, etc.) This happens because static vessels transmit information less frequently. In this case, instead of the vessel's name, its MMSI will be displayed (for example, 239923000). There is also a small possibility of incorrect or corrupted data recording. This occurs due to the following reasons:
a) malfunction of the vessel’s AIS transponder
b) Global Positioning System (GPS) error and
c) failure of the ship's crew to correctly configure the information transmitted by the AIS transponder (this refers to static information, such as ship name, type and dimensions, as well as destination and estimated time of arrival).

The system is based solely on information received from ships transmitted by their AIS transponder.
Therefore, correct configuration of the AIS transponder by the crew is very important! In particular, the person who is responsible for operating the AIS transponder can greatly assist in the correct presentation of vessel information by taking care of the following:
a) Correct updating and verification of Static Information that is recorded in the AIS block. These include: vessel name, vessel type, vessel dimensions, IMO, MMSI number, AIS device relative position.
b) Properly updating Travel Information, i.e. destination, ETA and draft, before commencement of each voyage. If this information is correct, the vessel will appear in "Expected Arrival" for each port and an estimated arrival time will be provided for all parties involved. One port should be entered each time, and any additional information (such as country or multiple ports) should be avoided.

Moving ships are displayed as ship icons. Vessels that are not moving or moving at a speed of less than 0.5 knots, are anchored or moored are displayed as squares.
Ship icons and tracks are colored according to their type (cargo, tanker, passenger, etc.)

The MarineTraffic system can be expanded to cover any area around the world. You can independently install an antenna, an AIS receiver, connect it to a computer connected to the Internet and start sending data immediately. You will immediately see on the map the vessels that were received by your receiver. For those who wish to have their area covered on the map, an acknowledgment on the main site, links to a company or personal site, or any other links upon request are included.

If you have a private sailboat that is within MarineTraffic's coverage area, you can install an AIS transponder on board to record your position on a map in real time. Installing an AIS transponder on small boats is optional and you are permitted to use a CLASS “B” transponder. CLASS "B" is cheaper than CLASS "A". CLASS B transponders are intended for ships with a displacement of less than 300GT. Price from 700 to 2000 euros.
Additionally, you can use the iAIS app on your smartphone (iPhone/iPad or Android) on board to report your vessel's position directly to MarineTraffic, without having to operate an AIS transponder.
There are at least 5 different methods for submitting your own position in MarineTraffic.

Would you like to know where this or that sea vessel is currently located, which ships are located next to you, and which ones are moored in Buenos Aires, Sumatra or Singapore? The MarineTraffic.com network service gives you a unique opportunity to obtain a lot of useful information on the location and movement of the vessel you need on the map, its route, speed, cargo, weather in a given region, and so on. In this material I will talk about the real-time ship traffic map on the Marine Traffic website, and also explain in detail how to use the capabilities of this service.

AIS navigation

As you know, AIS (automated identification system) has been used in shipping since the early 90s, the main purpose of which is to improve the monitoring and safety of maritime transport. Its capabilities allow you to identify a ship, its course, dimensions and other parameters using VHF radio waves. The system covers an area of ​​about 9 million square kilometers of coastal areas around the globe, including about 2,500 ports in areas of the highest maritime traffic.

In 2004, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) required ships with a gross tonnage of more than 300 tons to install a special AIS transmitter on board the ship. The latter’s responsibilities include transmitting in real time to a special receiving station all necessary information about the vessel, including its speed, course, location, name, dimensions, and other relevant data.

The site I'm reviewing, MarineTraffic.com, receives data from more than 1,200 AIS receiving stations around the world. After collecting data, they are transferred to a processing center, where they are processed and plotted on a map posted on the service. At the same time, the indicated map of ship movement online is available both through a browser on a desktop PC and through the corresponding application for mobile devices.

So what is Marine Traffic?

MarineTraffic is a popular network service in the world for tracking the location of marine vessels. The resource collects real-time data about the location of the vessel (as well as information about its course, speed, tonnage, and so on). And displays it on the corresponding map, thereby greatly facilitating the work of people directly connected with the sea.

The purpose of the vessel traffic map service is to increase the transparency and efficiency of maritime transport. The site allows you to track the location of many vessels, making data on them available to ordinary users. At the same time, the resource is actively developing, inviting interested parties to take direct part in its formation and further progress.

If you want to take a look, you need to check out my selection of the best services here.

How to use the Marine Traffic real-time ship traffic map

After going to the website marinetraffic.com, you will immediately be taken to the service’s working map.

I recommend scrolling down the work screen and using the Russian interface instead of the default English one. At the same time, I will warn the reader that most of the interface will remain in English one way or another.

You will then need to go through the registration process (after which you will have access to a number of special options at the “My Fleets” level, allowing you to track the vessels of your choice). To do this, click on “Login” at the top, then on “Register”, and go through the registration procedure via email.

The map schematically shows different types of vessels in different colors (transport, tankers, passenger, high-speed, special, fishing, etc.)

By hovering the cursor over the vessel you need, you can get information about its name and final destination. More detailed information is available only after paying the appropriate fee for using the site (an annual subscription, a subscription depending on the number of vessels you have chosen, and so on).

Service control panel in Russian

The Marine Traffic service control panel is divided into two main parts - the left panel and the top panel.

The left panel contains the following options:

The top panel has the following options:

Conclusion

Despite all the richness of the Marine Traffic website’s capabilities, its free functionality is quite limited, being of interest only in terms of familiarization with the capabilities of the service. All the completeness of the information on the vessel traffic maps that the user needs can only be obtained by paying for the paid functionality of the site, which is really quite impressive and will be fully useful to people associated with the sea and maritime transportation.

If you want to find out where and what vessels are located or find the location of a specific vessel in real time, then select the desired quadrant on the map and view the movement of vessels. To find out what kind of ship it is and who it belongs to, just click on the marker you are interested in on the ships map.

More options (if the map above is not available)

→ riverships.ru

Information on Russian river steamers (with photos).

→ shipspotting.com

→ shipsandharbours.com

Find the ship and see its photo.

→ cfmc.ru/positioning

Information about the location of training ships.
Information on the location of vessels is provided based on data from the industry monitoring system (OSM). The positioning time is set to UTC.

→ maritime.com.pl

Information on Polish courts.
Quote:
“The Maritime Shipping section consists of the following modules: Maritime Agencies, Vessel Catalog, List of Regular Lines.
This section contains a list of Polish ships in service with their full characteristics. In addition to detailed technical data, photographs, illustrations and specifications can be found here. It is possible to find all the information for any vessel by specifying its name, type of vessel, ship owner or technical parameters.”

→ vesseltracker.com

If you want to see a photo of the ship and brief information about the ship.

→ marinetraffic.com

Website to monitor the vessel in real time

→ containershipregister.nl
search by container name. You can search for a ship by name, by IMO, etc.

→ world-ships.com
In general, search across all courts in the world, but registration is required.

→ solentwaters.co.uk
You can find a ship in real time by name.
Overall a great site.

→ digital-seas.com
The search contains a lot of information on the vessel, photos, descriptions, and upon registration, access to the full database.

→ digital-seas.com
shows a photo of the vessel, brief information about it, current location, ports of call..
registration required

View information and photos on the ships of the shipping company MSC Ships.
Photo super quality!!!

Based on data from AIS. All vessel positions, departure from the port and arrival at the destination port in real time. Attention! The positions of the vessels may sometimes not correspond to the real ones and may lag behind by an hour or more. All coordinates of vessel positions are presented for informational purposes only.

Search data from AIS cannot be used for routing. When searching, you will find accurate information about the movements of ships on the map using AIS data and can view their photographs. In order to find a ship, select a sector on the map where the number of ships currently located there is indicated.

We click with the mouse, for example, on the region of Europe and get the picture that you see below. If you zoom in on the area, you will see specific vessels. The map receives updates every few seconds.

When you hover your cursor over a ship, you can see its name; on the site you can get other information you are interested in for searching. To find the ship you are interested in, enter the name of the ship and, if possible, its location in the search bar and press the search key. The AIS map will show the vessel's position in real time.

What is AIS?

To reduce the risk of ship collisions, AIS - Automatic Identification System was developed in 2000. Its functionality turned out to be so successful that just two years later the International Maritime Organization demanded the mandatory installation of AIS terminals on all cargo ships with a displacement of more than 500 registered tons, on “trucks” over 300 tons on international voyages, and on all ships for passenger transport, regardless of tonnage

Unlike radars, which can detect the appearance of large floating objects near the ship and approximately estimate their current direction and speed of movement, AIS allows you to obtain much more detailed and accurate information about the navigation situation.

To better understand the capabilities of the new system, let’s first understand how it works.

The ship's AIS module is a digital VHF transceiver interfaced with ships' navigation systems. Depending on the speed of the vessel, every 2–10 seconds (every 3 minutes when stationary), it automatically transmits the following operational information: MMSI identification number, navigation status (“at anchor”, “underway”, etc.). ), current coordinates, true course and speed, angular rate of turn and exact time stamp.

In addition to dynamic data, static data is transmitted every 6 minutes: the IMO vessel identification number, its type, name, radio call sign, dimensions, type of positioning system (GPS, GLONASS, LORAN) and even the position of its antenna relative to the bow of the vessel. Route information is transmitted at the same frequency: destination with estimated time of arrival, draft, cargo category and number of people on board. In addition, in the event of a threat to the safety of the vessel, it is allowed to send text messages entered manually from it.

The received information can be displayed on the terminal in the form of a table with information about nearby vessels, as well as in the form of their symbols superimposed on navigation maps (for example, in a chartplotter) - of course, in this case it is much easier to assess the relative position and dynamics of movement.

In short, according to AIS messages, the captain can absolutely accurately assess the current navigation situation. By the way, radio traffic in the system is carried out in the range of 162 MHz, that is, at a much lower frequency compared to radar radiation. Longer radio waves are able to avoid obstacles such as large ships and low islands, and therefore the range of AIS is pleasantly impressive. Under favorable conditions, it can exceed 40 miles, but keep in mind that the height of the antenna here, as with other airborne transmitters, plays a decisive role.

For yachtsmen, at least those whose vessels do not appear in the Forbes magazine charts, the subtlety of using the system lies in the fact that only simplified version terminals, designated “Class B”, are allowed to be installed on ships with a displacement of less than 300 tons.

They feature a noticeably reduced transmitter power (2 W versus 12.5 W), which limits their transmission range to approximately five miles. Another nuisance is a simplified data transmission algorithm that allows you to send information only if there is free space on the air during the radio exchange of older brothers equipped with class A terminals. The trick here is that at any given time on any of the two AIS channels It is possible to transmit one single block of digital data, and class A devices are able to agree with each other in advance about the order in which they are issued.

However, you must agree: despite such discrimination, being in a rough sea at night, it is very pleasant to know that on a supertanker passing nearby, the watchman probably knows about the presence of your 45-foot yacht at his side.

There is another way to use AIS, and it involves installing a receiver that does not allow sending any data at all, but is capable of tracking the movements of all ships equipped with full-fledged terminals. By and large, you don't even need a separate device for this, since manufacturers like Icom and Standard Horizon have begun to equip high-end models of mounted VHF radios with this function.

Convenient, compact, not expensive, but there is one big “but” - it’s problematic to place even a text table on a small low-resolution screen, let alone build even the most primitive semblance of a map...

That is why AIS receivers were developed that do not display graphic information at all, but are able to convert data into packets of the standard NMEA protocol, which is understood by the vast majority of chartplotters. Plus, some of them can connect to computers via USB, or even transfer data via Wi-Fi to mobile gadgets running Android or iOS. Similar devices are produced, for example, by Weather Dock.

By the way, when installing AIS equipment, even an additional antenna is not absolutely necessary due to operation in the same frequency range with the on-board radio. However, keep in mind that splitters used to connect two different devices to an antenna tend to reduce the signal level slightly, and if there is a problem with a single antenna, you will lose two security systems at once.

It would be naive to believe that such an advanced information exchange system was created solely to assist helmsmen in operational maneuvering. AIS also includes global monitoring of vessel movements for the benefit of a variety of shipping companies, traffic control centers, and government agencies that may require information about the location of certain vessels or cargo. For this reason, AIS equipment can be based not only on ships, but also on coastal stations, many of which are connected to a global network.

Well, in order to more effectively use the system to search and rescue sailors in emergency situations, emergency buoys are being produced that are capable of transmitting AIS information with high priority. There are also so-called virtual buoys - this is the only type of device in the system, whose real location may not coincide with the coordinates in their messages. As a rule, these are transmitters installed on the shore, warning passing ships of dangers such as poorly visible rocks or capes devoid of lighthouses jutting far out to sea.

It must be said that AIS receivers are even located on satellites. It is only on the surface of the Earth that the radius of propagation of its signal is limited by visibility to the horizon, but in space it can be received from hundreds of kilometers without any problems. Today, more than a dozen spacecraft are orbiting the planet, monitoring maritime traffic.

It’s especially nice that you can get to data on the global movement of ships without being the owner of a shipping company or a secret service agent. Information is available on a paid basis (for example, in the full version of Google Earth), but in a somewhat truncated form it can also be seen for free, for example, on the resource www.marinetraffic.com, whose interactive maps and user-friendly interface are replicated on many other nautical websites.