Marine Traffic is a resource with which you can track the position of ships on an AIS (Automatic Identification System) map. This is done very simply: in the search window you need to enter the name of the vessel, and the service will show where it is currently located. In addition to the name and type of the ship, you can find out its course, the country to which it belongs, its speed and other useful data.
The service is convenient to use - vessels of different types are highlighted in different colors, the direction of their movement is shown, and those at anchor are separately indicated.
Video: MarineTraffic - the world's most popular online vessel tracking service
When you hover the cursor over the icon, information about the ship appears in a pop-up window: name, country of registration, destination. If you click on it, the system will show more detailed information, including photos.
How does Marinetraffic work?
AIS technology, an automatic identification system, is used to create a vessel map. Each ship has a transmitter that constantly transmits information over the air using radio waves. Mobile and satellite communications are not used here, so this technology is cheaper than analogues. Any receiver operating on VHF or VHF frequencies can pick up the signal.
Broadcast coverage depends on several factors. The most significant ones are the transmitter power and the height of the receiving antenna. But even the weakest repeater can broadcast within a range of 75 km. This is enough for ships to become aware of each other's presence from a safe distance.
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.
The port is located on the right bank of the Dnieper, 15 km. from its mouth. The approach to the port is carried out along the fairway passing along the Rvach River, the Alder Dnieper branch and the Dnieper itself.
Navigation in the port lasts all year round.
Winds from the north and northeast directions predominate.
Days with winds of more than 15 m/s account for 10% per year and are most often observed from November to March. Fogs are observed on average 19-60 days a year and last 5-6 hours a day.
The Dnieper Delta has been declared a nature reserve. Walking is only allowed on the sleeves.
Navigating the fairway that leads to the port is not particularly difficult.
Last news
The total volume of work amounted to more than 400 thousand m3. This is already the fourth port in which, since the beginning of the year, the USPA has carried out work to restore the passport depths. “Restoring passport depths in seaports is one of the main functions of the USPA, according to the Law “On Seaports”. This year we have already carried out dredging in the ports of Odessa, Chernomorsk, and Izmail. Now Kherson has also been added to them. In addition, work is currently ongoing in Nikolaev, as well as in two Ukrainian ports on Azov - Mariupol and Berdyansk. Thus, the USPA, as we planned, will carry out operational dredging in 7 ports at once in 2019. This will allow private and public stevedoring companies to work more efficiently, and will also reduce the cost of transporting goods through the sea ports of Ukraine,” commented the head of the State Enterprise “USPA” Raivis Veckagans on the completion of dredging work in Kherson. In accordance with the agreement, the contractor, SMD INVEST LLC, which the USPA selected through an open tender in the Prozorro electronic procurement system, restored the certified depths in the waters of the seaport of Kherson, the operational part at the berths, in sections of the approach channel to the port and on the approach channel to the quarry Rybalche village. “The work on operational dredging in the port of Kherson took place with the provision of all environmental measures, in accordance with current norms and rules,” noted the head of the Kherson branch of the State Enterprise “USPA” (Administration of the Kherson MP) Vladimir Garashchenko. Reference: Upon completion of dredging work, the depth of the approach channel (river part of the KhMK) to the seaport of Kherson is 8.25 m, anchor places - 8.25 m, the approach channel to the sand pit with. Rybalche - 4.1 m. Depth indicators in the operational part of the water area are brought in accordance with the passport values and have the following values: - at the berths of the Kherson branch of the State Enterprise "USPA" (Administration of the Kherson MP) from 2.5 m (No. 7) to 8.5 m (No. 4, 5, 6); - at the cargo berths where the Kherson River Port Branch of JSC Ukrrichflot operates - from 3.3 m to 4.4 m; — at the berths of the port operator Smart-Maritime Group LLC - 7.0 m; - at the berths of the Kherson representative office of the State Enterprise "Enterprise for the provision of petroleum products" - from 4.1 m to 9.6 m; - at the berths of the sea terminal of the KhGZ "Pallada" from 4.6 m to 6.0 m. ...
The Kherson branch of the State Enterprise "USPA" (Administration of the Kherson MP) summed up the results of activities in the field of environmental protection for the 1st half of 2019. As part of the ongoing monitoring of the water area and territory of the Kherson seaport, employees of the environmental safety sector of the branch recorded 4 (four) facts of environmental pollution, namely: - in the period from 02/01/2019 to 02/20/2019, 3 ( three) cases of pollution as a result of leakage of petroleum products from trucks located on the territory of the branch; - 04/05/2019, contamination of the water area of the Kherson seaport was discovered in the area of the berths of the Kherson Trade and Logistics Department of the State Enterprise “Petroleum Products Supply Enterprise” (Neftegavan). All consequences of identified cases of environmental pollution were successfully localized and eliminated, thanks to the coordinated and prompt actions of professionally trained personnel. ...
The Kherson branch of the State Enterprise "USPA" (Administration of the Kherson MP) summed up the results of cargo transshipment in the seaport of Kherson for the first half of 2019. The actual cargo turnover figures for the reporting period amounted to more than 1.76 million tons, which is 420 thousand tons or 31.3% higher than the volumes for the same period in 2018. “Positive results were achieved by increasing the volume of transshipment of main types of cargo, as well as attracting some new cargo flows. The leaders in the total volume of transshipment remain agricultural cargo (feed meal, bran, soybean seeds, corn grain), as well as ammonium nitrate and sheet steel. Among the new cargoes attracted by port operators and stevedores are ammophos, diesel engines, raw dolomite, quartz sand, etc.,” Vladimir Garashchenko, head of the branch, commented on the statistics. ...
Upon completion of the spawning bans that were in effect from early April to mid-June and preparatory work, operational dredging was resumed in the waters of the seaport of Kherson. “Operational dredging resumed on June 16. The work is necessary to maintain the passport characteristics of the water area and hydraulic structures of the port (berths). These works involve cleaning the bottom from sediments of sand, silt and other debris in order to maintain the required rated depth and ensure the normal operation of shipping routes and hydraulic structures. The implementation of this project will allow 100% use of the passport and design capacities of the seaport, which, in turn, will lead to an increase in cargo turnover,” Vladimir Garashchenko, head of the Kherson branch of SE USPU, commented on the event. He also added that the resumption of dredging work was preceded by preliminary depth measurements in sections of the approach channel and near the berths, as well as a diving examination of the bottom with the removal of foreign objects. The dredging is carried out simultaneously in two areas: near the berths of the Kherson branch of the State Enterprise "USPA" the work will be carried out by the KPL-99 floating crane, with the Izmailskaya dredging scow, and on the river part of the Kherson sea approach channel the multi-scoop dredger "Danube" and the Kuyalnitskaya dredging scows will work ", "Kievskaya" and an auxiliary vessel for the delivery of anchors "MZ-9". Before the suspension of operational dredging due to the spring spawning of fish, the dredging fleet of SMD INVEST LLC completed almost 70% of the planned volume of dredging, which is about 400 thousand cubic meters. m. Then scooping was carried out at anchorages No. 3, No. 8, No. 5, No. 6, No. 6a, No. 7 and on the section of the approach canal to the quarry in the village of Rybalche. Operational dredging work is carried out with provision of all environmental measures in accordance with current standards and regulations. ...
We present to you a unique map with which you can find the location of any ship in the world's oceans, as well as determine the direction of its movement.
The technology behind the card relies on a network of satellites capable of receiving encrypted Automatic Identification System, or AIS, signals. This system was developed specifically for civil navigation and is an encrypted signal transmitted by the ship into orbit. The signal contains basic information not only about the direction of movement of the vessel, but also key data about it - name, type, speed, cargo, destination port, etc. Information received by satellites is transmitted to the ground, where it is automatically processed.
The result of this processing was embodied in an interactive map of vessel movements, which can be seen below.
Interactive map of maritime traffic
Search for a ship by its name
A legend is attached to the map, thanks to which you can determine the type of ship being monitored. Similar data can be obtained by clicking on its icon on the map. You can monitor the movement of ships both in satellite mode and in the mode of overlaying a real image. In addition, if you know the name of the ship, you can find it on the map. To do this, you must enter the name in the appropriate field in English. If everything is done correctly, the map itself will be centered on the selected ship.
Video instructions for finding ships on the map
Map update
Almost all data shown on the map is updated in real time. It is worth remembering that the speed of movement of a ship on the open sea is relatively low, so if it seems that the ship is not moving, then perhaps you should just wait. However, this may not be the only reason for the ship’s “freezing” - the AIS satellite network still has “white spots” in the world’s oceans, into which ships periodically fall. In this case, you just need to wait until the ship can communicate with satellites again - its location will be updated.
