THE DEFINITIVE AIS HANDBOOK
The world of AIS can be both confusing to newcomers and experienced professionals alike. What actually is AIS? What data does it gather? How can it help my business? Do I need AIS if I don’t have a business? Class A or Class B transponders? Do I actually need it? There’s a plethora of questions from those looking to get the most out of their tracking tools, or from those looking into entering the maritime industry.
We’ve compiled a comprehensive guide to AIS that covers a wide range of topics from specific AIS units to getting the most out of the data gathered. We’ve included some of the most commonly asked questions regarding the topic too. If you are ever in doubt, take some time to read through this document, if your question isn’t answered, feel free to contact BigOceanData.
What is AIS?
The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is a worldwide automatic positioning system based on fitting small transponders to vessels that continuously transmits a signal. This alerts other vessels and shore stations with AIS receivers to the presence of that vessel. The position information is supplemented with additional information about the vessel. The signals and accompanying information can then be received by any vessel, land station or satellite fitted with an AIS receiver, and is then typically displayed on a screen using interactive chart-plotting software.
Who has AIS?
International maritime law requires AIS transponders to be fitted aboard international voyaging ships with a gross tonnage of 300 tonnes or more, and on all passenger ships regardless of their size. Given its visibility and safety advantages many smaller vessels also voluntarily install AIS units. In many countries no license is required to purchase and operate either transponders or receivers.
The result is that AIS is used almost universally in the worldwide commercial maritime industry and increasingly so in the leisure marine sector. Not all vessels can be tracked by AIS. Naval and security ships generally prefer not to be tracked when on active duty, and cases are regularly reported of commercial vessels underway with their transponders turned off for unspecified reasons. Read the entire Report here...
Free AIS Ship Data - ship tracking, reporting and signalling service
- AIS Hub AIS data sharing centre. Provides data exchange between volunteers in raw NMEA format
- Aegean sea and Piraeus Harbour
- Alesund Norway
- Algeciras Spain
- Amsterdam Holland
- Antwerp Belgium
- Baltic Sea AIS Live Baltic Sea movement between all Ports
- Bergen Norway
- Bremen Germany
- Bremerhaven Germany
- Canberra Australia
- Copenhagen Denmark
- CruiseCal.com where is my ship today, cruise itineraries, cruise calendar and Webcams
- Cruise Mapper Cruise Ships AIS - Cruise Ports and Cruise Itineraries World Wide
- FleetMon Fleet-Mon.comis giving you realtime AIS positions of ships from around the globe. Digital-Seas brings maritime real live to your desk and it still is: "the best tracker in the vessel universe..."
- Antwerp Belgium
- Gdansk Poland
- Hamburg Germany Port of Hamburg and the River Elbe AIS live
- Helsinki Finland
- Helsingborg Denmark
- Houston - Galveston bay Ports, Texas USA
- Isle of Wight & Southampton, UK
- Irish Sea UK Ship AIS live vessel movements from around the Irish Sea (and further!)
- Kiel Kanal Germany Kiel Kanal connection North Sea and Baltic
- Kiel Germany Port of Kiel and Kiel Kanal
- Kieler Bucht Baltic Sea Bay of Kiel
- Nord-Ostsee-Kanal & Kieler Bucht Live Schiffspositionen in der Kieler Bucht und NOK
- Klaipeda Lithuania
- Las Palmas Canary Islands
- Le Havre France
- Lübeck Germany
- MARINE TRAFFIC real time ship moments world wide, as well as ports - located in Greece
- Malmö Sweden
- North East England Middlesborough, Humberside, Scarborough
- Palma de Mallorca Balearic Islands, Spain
- Port Maps AIS Live ship traffic world wide, watch ships movment on the map.
- AIS New York Harbor
- Ockero Sweden
- Ostsee Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: by Maritime Informations System - Häfen und Ortschaften
- Port Everglades - Boca Raton, Florida, USA
- PORT ARRIVALS This site provides information on the possible arrival of vessels at ports around the world.
- Riga, Latvia
- Rostock Germany
- Rostock Rostock Port View
- Rotterdam Holland
- Sailwx.info sailwx.info - Live tracking of Cruise ships and ocean liners - ship tracker and weather observations
- San Francisco USA
- Scotland AIS live ship movements: Shetland Isles, Orkney, River Clyde
- Sandnes Norway - Stavanger Bay
- Seattle Washington, USA
- Singapore der größte Hafen der Welt, über vesseltracker.com
- Solent Area – Southampton/Portsmouth, UK
- Stavanger Norway
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Trac Plus TracPlus the perfect global tracking solution land, sea and air tracking needs
- Travemünde Germany
- Trelleborg, Sweden
- Trondheim Norway
- Turku Abo, Finland
- UK AIS live vessel movement
- Vancouver B.C. Canada Bay and Port area
- Vessel Finder Search for AIS vessel positions worldwide
- Vessels at Ports Worldwide AIS Live many ports mainly USA - Canada - Europe
- Victoria B.C., Canada
- Vlissingen Holland
- Wilhelmshaven Germany
- Wismar Germany
- WORLD MAP - MarineTraffic - AIS Live Map - Regions and Ports around the world. Highly recommended!
- Zeebrugge Holland
Commerical AIS Live! Sites
- AIS Live - The First Global AIS NETWORK
- ShippingExplorer ShippingExplorer - Live Vessel Tracking
- VT Explorer - Black Sea
- Vesseltracker.com is a ship tracking, reporting and signalling service, providing you with realtime AIS position data from your region in a map view and in Google Earth. Vesseltracker is ship tracking made easy!
- Whats in Port Your Guide to over 1200 Ports - Interactive World Cruise Map