Thanks to the development of technology, modern society managed to fully develop ship transportation. Once upon a time, people traveled on wooden ships, guided by the stars, losing a huge amount of time on swimming. Then steamboats appeared, slightly accelerating these processes. However, now not only the vessels themselves have improved, but also the operational exchange of information.
Today, an automatic identification system has been created that works thanks to radio waves broadcast using a transmitter and receiver. This is used to ensure that ships can follow a safe route and are always under surveillance. This system can be used not only by the leading persons of the shipping companies, but also by every person who wants to know the location of the required vessel. The use of satellite map technology has made it possible to create special nautical charts ships in real time, which provide all the necessary information about active ports, ships and their course.
Passenger ship
So, there are many different services that offer their help in order to find a ship. Typically, these resources are presented in the form of a map, which shows all the existing civil ships and their movement. Each such vehicle has its own unique cipher, which is broadcast and decrypted via satellites. Thanks to this, anyone can find out general information about the ship: location, route, speed, type, cargo, and even a photo.
Important! Technology is not absolute. Information is updated, of course, in real time, but there are many reasons for signal delay, for example, blind spots in certain places on the route. Therefore, the speed values, as well as the location of the ship, are likely to be inaccurate.
However, despite the fact that all sites have a common goal - to show the route of ships on a map in real time, they have different functions. For example, Scanmarine, which is located on the Russian segment, shows the territory schematically without the ability to select a satellite or another view, you can also only click on the marker to get acquainted with the information, but you cannot find the vessel by name. To get more options, you need to follow the link that can be seen on the map frame, or simply enter vesselfinder.com in the search engine.
On the Internet, you can find many resources that use the same type of maps, for example, Google or Yandex. By going to the official page, you can use the search and get more accurate information.
Schematic map without relief
Passengers will have enough of these functions, but if other goals or more needs are a priority, then they will have to register, and on some sites, in order to get all the features, they will also have to buy premium access. It should be said right away that one of the most popular now is Marinetraffic.com. This is due to its efficiency, convenience, simplicity and frequency of location updates.
When the site opens, you can immediately pay attention to the map, where there will be a huge number of markers of different colors, shapes and sizes. To deal with this, you need to look into the legend or additional footnotes, since different resources have different markings (in fact, there are about 3 cards themselves different types that everyone uses when posting on their pages). Of course, it will be very difficult to find the necessary vessel in this chaos. Some sites offer a search that will immediately switch to the zone where the required liner is located and its path along the route.
Found ship using search: satellite view
The map allows you to see the entire surface of the globe, which greatly increases the possibility of tracking the ship. Everything is interactive - you need to hold down and move the mouse cursor in the required direction, so you can quickly move between different points of the planet. In addition, among other tools, zooming in, changing the view (standard, simplified, satellite, hybrid), and in some even weather will be available. By the way, on the original sites with maps, when registering, they ask for what purposes the resource will be used. The number of functions that will be available depends on this answer.
So, step by step instructions:
Note! Small boats are not monitored.
It is not always necessary to contact online maps to track your ship among thousands of others around the world. As an example, consider a river walk in your city. In this case, it is better to request a number from the port state service in advance in order to find out the timetable and negotiate for tickets. It will be more practical than studying vehicle tracking. It is also not recommended to communicate with services using Email as it can take a long time to get a response. It all depends on the case, since the request can be queued or take a long time to process.
The AIS system (AIS) has become very useful for all citizens of different categories. For entrepreneurs or people who have entered into a contract, it is very important to keep track of their cargo, which transports a certain vessel, as well as all other information about it.
Characteristics of the Carnival Fantasy ship
Thanks to radio signals, which are amplified by special positions with antennas, it is possible to calculate the time and the correctness of the route very accurately. Of course, for ordinary passengers, such a system is very useful, universal and in some cases the only one. Having studied the methodology of actions a little, you can easily find out all the answers to your questions.
Marine site Russia no October 15, 2016 Created: October 15, 2016 Updated: July 25, 2017 Views: 77110
Based on data from AIS. All positions of ships, departure from the port and arrival at the port of destination in real time. Attention! Vessel positions may sometimes not correspond to real ones and may be an hour or more behind. All vessel position coordinates are provided for informational purposes only.
Search data from AIS (AIS) cannot be used for route planning When searching, you will find accurate information about the movement of ships on the map according to AIS data and you can see their photos. 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, you will see specific vessels. The map receives updates every few seconds.
When you hover over the 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, you should enter the name of the ship and, if possible, its localization in the search bar and press the search key. AIS map will show the position of the vessel in real time.
To reduce the risk of ship collisions in 2000, AIS - Automatic Identification System, that is, the Automatic Identification System, was developed. Its functionality turned out to be so successful that after only two years, the International Maritime Organization required the mandatory installation of AIS terminals on all cargo ships with a displacement of more than 500 register tons, on “trucks” over 300 tons making international voyages, and on all ships for passenger transportation, regardless of tonnage.
Unlike radars, which are able to detect the appearance of large floating objects near the vessel and approximately estimate their current direction and speed of movement, AIS provides much more detailed and accurate information about the navigational situation.
To better understand the possibilities new system First, let's figure out how it works.
The ship's AIS module is a digital VHF transceiver that communicates with the ship's navigation systems. Depending on the speed of the vessel, every 2-10 seconds (every 3 minutes at rest) it automatically transmits the following operational information: MMSI identification number, navigation status (“at anchor”, “in motion underway”, etc.). ), current position, true heading and speed, rate of turn, and timestamp.
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. Routing information is transmitted with the same frequency: destination with estimated time of arrival, draft, cargo category and number of people on board. In addition, in case of a threat to the safety of the vessel, it is allowed to send text messages entered manually.
The received information can be displayed on the terminal in the form of a table with information about nearby ships, as well as in the form of their symbols superimposed on navigation charts (for example, in a chart plotter) - of course, in this case it is much easier to assess the relative position and traffic dynamics.
In a word, according to AIS messages, the captain can absolutely accurately assess the current navigation situation. By the way, the radio exchange in the system is conducted 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 like 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 in the case of other airborne transmitters, plays a decisive role.
For yachtsmen, at least those whose ships do not appear on the Forbes magazine charts, the subtlety of using the system is that ships under 300 tons are only allowed to install a simplified version of the terminals, designated "Class B".
They are distinguished by a markedly reduced transmitter power (2 watts versus 12.5 watts), which limits the range of reception of their messages to about five miles. Another trouble 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 transfer one single block of digital data, and class A devices can agree on the order of their issuance in advance.
However, you must agree: despite such discrimination, being in the night turbulent sea, it is very pleasant to realize that on a supertanker passing nearby, the watchman certainly knows about the presence of your 45-foot yacht at his side.
There is another way to use AIS, and it consists in installing a receiver that does not allow sending any data at all, but is able to track the movements of all ships equipped with full-fledged terminals. By and large, this does not even require a separate device, since manufacturers like Icom and Standard Horizon have begun to equip high-end VHF mountable radios with this feature.
Convenient, compact, not expensive, but there is one big “but” - it is problematic to place even a text table on a small screen with a low resolution, and even to build even the most primitive semblance of a map ...
That is why AIS receivers were developed, which do not show graphic information at all, but are able to convert data into packets of the standard NMEA protocol, 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, there is not even a 100% need for an additional antenna due to operation in the same frequency range with the onboard radio. However, keep in mind that splitters used to connect two different devices to the antenna usually reduce the signal level a little, and in case of problems 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 the helmsmen in operational maneuvering. AIS is also responsible for the global control of ship movements for the benefit of a variety of shipping companies, traffic control centers, as well as public services who may need information about the location of certain ships or cargoes. For this reason, AIS equipment can be based not only on ships, but also on coast 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 produced that can transmit AIS information with a higher 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. Typically, these are shore-mounted transmitters that warn passing ships of hazards such as poorly visible cliffs or headlands devoid of lighthouses that protrude far into the sea.
I must say that AIS receivers are placed even on satellites. After all, it is only on the surface of the Earth that the radius of propagation of its signal is limited by visibility to the horizon, and in space it can be received without problems from hundreds of kilometers. Today, more than a dozen spacecraft revolve around the planet, busy monitoring sea traffic.
It is especially nice that you can get to the data on the global movement of ships without being the owner of a shipping company or an agent of the secret service. The information is available for a fee (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 www.marinetraffic.com resource, whose interactive maps and user-friendly interface are replicated on many other nautical sites.
AIS (eng. AIS Automatic Identification System) - a system that allows you to identify and track vessel movement online with an accuracy of 10 meters. Apart from deployment of AIS ships provides information about their type, dimensions, destination, speed, expected time of arrival, makes it possible to get acquainted with the history of routes and the intended course. The specified information is presented in the card, to open which you need to click on the object of interest. Online access to AIS ships provided directly by ships using a radio frequency transmitter. Individual vessels or ports may not be viewable due to range limitations, interference, or weather conditions affecting radio communications. If a " marine traffic” does not display the item you want, please try again later.
Real-time vessel movement map covers the whole world and provides the user with the opportunity to see their placement in various ports and regions of the world. To find ships in other regions and ports, you need to zoom out on the map and select the desired sector.
The Answer-Logistic portal focuses on the current movement and positions of vessels according to AIS in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland and the port of St. Petersburg. Note that deployment of ships displayed with a slight delay. You can find out the time elapsed since the last update of the coordinates by hovering over the object.
| Designations: | |
Marine traffic is conditional free service to track the ship's location online. On the world map you can find any ships that are in port or sailing. 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:
At the present time, almost all ships are equipped with an automatic identification system AIS, which allows you to track the ship and avoid ship collisions. 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. Regular 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 no less than 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 the ship online using the Marinetraffic service.
If you have the ship's name, 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 any port or it could not go far from it, you can try to find the desired port in the same search form. And then all the familiar actions of the mouse point at all the ships and see 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 the map, then it will not be difficult for you to find out the location of the vessel in real time.
On this page you can see the movement of sea and river vessels in real time.
AIS (Automatic Identification System, (eng. 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 (AIS Automatic Information System), which is associated with the expansion of the system's functionality compared to the ordinary task of identifying ships.
In accordance with the SOLAS 74/88 Convention, it is mandatory for ships of over 300 gross tonnage engaged in international voyages, ships of over 500 gross tonnage not engaged in international voyages and all passenger ships. Ships and yachts with a smaller displacement can be equipped with a class B device. Data transmission is carried out on the international communication channels AIS 1 and AIS 2 in the SOTDMA (Self Organizing Time Division Multiple Accsess) protocol. Frequency modulation with GMSK keying is applied.
Purpose
AIS is designed to improve the level of navigation safety, efficiency of navigation and operation of the vessel traffic control center (VTC), environmental protection, providing the following functions:
As a means of collision avoidance in ship-to-ship mode;
as a means of obtaining information about the vessel and cargo by the competent coastal authorities;
as a VTC tool in ship-to-shore mode for vessel traffic management;
as a means of monitoring and tracking ships, and in search and rescue (SAR) operations.
AIS components
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 - auxiliary and can be taken from the GPS receiver via the NMEA bus;
modulator/demodulator (converter of analog data to digital and vice versa),
microprocessor based controller
equipment for input-output of information to control elements
The principle of operation of AIS
System Overview from US Coast Guard
The action of the AIS is based on the reception and transmission of messages via VHF waves. The AIS transmitter operates at longer wavelengths than radars, which makes it possible to exchange information not only at direct distances, but also in areas with obstacles in the form of not very large objects, as well as in bad weather conditions. Although one radio channel is enough, some AIS systems transmit and receive on two radio channels in order to avoid interference problems and not disturb the communication of other objects. AIS messages may contain:
identification information about the object,
information about the state of the object, obtained automatically from the controls of the object (including some electric and radio navigation devices),
information about the geographical and time coordinates that the AIS receives from the global navigation satellite system,
information entered manually by facility maintenance personnel (security related).
Transfer of additional textual information between AIS terminals (paging) is provided. The transfer 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 in the International Radio Regulations, two channels are assigned 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 transmission rate of digital information in the AIS channel is 9600 bps.
The operation of each AIS station (mobile or base) is strictly synchronized in UTC time with an error of no more than 10 µs from the built-in GNSS receiver (in the Russian Federation, according to the signals of the combined GLONASS/GPS GNSS receiver). To transmit information, continuously repeating frames with a duration of 1 minute are used, which are divided into 2250 slots (time intervals) with a duration of 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 ships and their data, and in the form of a simplified schematic map showing the relative position of ships and distances to them (calculated automatically from the transmitted by them geographical coordinates.) AIS is included in the list of equipment provided with uninterrupted power supply from batteries without fail.
Message Structure
static information
MMSI number
International Maritime Organization (IMO) number
Radio call sign and name of the vessel
Dimensions
Type of craft
Antenna position data (from GNSS Glonass or GPS)
Data is transferred every 6 minutes
Dynamic Information
Location (latitude and longitude)
Time (UTC)
Age of information (how long ago it was updated)
Heading true (relative to the ground), heading angle
True speed
Roll angle, trim
pitching angle
Turning speed
Navigation status (for example: Unable to steer or Restricted in ability to maneuver)
And other information from repeaters and sensors of electro-radio navigation devices and systems
Other information
Destination
Time of arrival (ETA)
Vessel's draft
Information about the cargo (class \ category of cargo)
Number of people on board
Messages to prevent and ensure the safety of cargo transportation
The throughput of each channel is up to 2000 messages per minute.
source wikipedia
This open, public project is designed to collect and present data that can be used in research such as:
- Study of maritime telecommunications in relation to efficiency and propagation parameters
- Vessel traffic simulation to assist in the field of navigational safety and handling of critical situations
- Interactive Information Systems design
- Designing databases that provide information in real time
- Statistical processing of port traffic using applications in operational research
- Development of applications for determining the sources of pollution
- Development of efficient algorithms for sea path and estimation to determine the estimated time of arrival of the vessel
- Correlation of received information with meteorological data
- Collaboration with institutions dealing with environmental protection.
This project provides free real-time information to the public about the movement of ships mainly along the coastline in many countries of the world.
The project is currently organized by the Department of Products and Systems Engineering Design, Aegean University, Greece.
The collection of primary data 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 as possible around the world.
The system is built on the basis of AIS (Automatic Identification System). As of December 2004, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) requires that every ship over 299 GT be equipped with an AIS transmitter that transmits position, speed, heading and various static information such as ship name, dimensions and flight details.
AIS was originally designed to help ships avoid collisions and also to assist port authorities to better management sea transportation.
The AIS transponder on board the ship includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver and a VHF transmitter that transmits ship movement data on two channels (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 use special software to display vessel positions on a chartplotter or computer.
Typically, ships with a SAI receiver connected to an external antenna placed 15 m above sea level will receive information in the 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 the terrain, type of antenna, obstacles around the antenna, and weather conditions. Most an important factor is the height of the antenna. 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 by a simple software on a PC, and then this data is sent to a central database through a web service. The software is free for interested users, under the GNU license.
The data received by the AIS receiver is encoded into a single NMEA sentence (64-bit plain text version).
Example: !AIVDM,1,1,B,1INS<[email protected],0*38
Messages include three main types:
1. Dynamic information - ship's position, speed, current position, heading 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, ship photos and other information. The current ship positions and/or lanes 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 map may not be constantly updated (for example, when the ship is out of range). Vessel positions shown on the chart may be out of date by up to 1 hour.
The MarineTraffic system covers only certain coastal areas where ground-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 located in an area where there is no base AIS receiving station nearby;
- The power of the transponder 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 on the type of cable.
- AIS transponder set incorrectly.
Icons on the map may appear slowly. This may be due to too many ships being displayed, web technology, javascript and web browsers.
The Internet Explorer browser (especially version 6 and older) is very inefficient in this kind of web application.
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 is because static vessels transmit information more rarely. In this case, instead of the name of the vessel, its MMSI will be displayed (eg 239923000). There is also a small possibility of incorrect or corrupted data recording. This happens due to the following reasons:
a) failures in the operation of the AIS transponder of the ship
b) Global Positioning System (GPS) error and
c) neglect by the ship's crew to correctly set up the information transmitted by the AIS transponder (this applies 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, the correct configuration of the AIS transponder by the crew is very important! In particular, the officer who is responsible for the operation of the AIS transponder can greatly assist in the correct presentation of vessel information by taking care of the following:
a) Correct updating and checking of Static Information which is written to the AIS block. These include: vessel name, vessel type, vessel dimensions, IMO, MMSI number, relative position of the AIS device.
b) Properly updating Movement Information, i.e. destination, ETA and draft, before the start of each voyage. If this information is correct, then the vessel will appear in the "Expected to arrive" for each port and an estimate of the time of arrival for all interested parties will be given. One port should be entered each time, and any additional information (such as countries 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, anchored or moored are displayed as squares.
Vessel icons and tracks are colored according to their type (cargo, tankers, passenger, etc.)
The MarineTraffic system can be expanded to cover any area worldwide. You can install an antenna yourself, an AIS receiver, connect it to a computer connected to the Internet and start sending data right away. You will immediately see on the map the vessels that have been received by your receiver. For those who wish to cover their area on the map, confirmation on the main site, links to the company or personal site, or any other links upon request are included.
If you have a private sailboat that is within MarineTraffic coverage, you can install an AIS transponder on board to record your position on the map in real time. Installing an AIS transponder on small craft is optional and you are allowed to use a CLASS B transponder. CLASS "B" is cheaper than CLASS "A". CLASS B transponders are designed for ships less than 300GT. Price from 700 to 2000 euros.
In addition, you can use the iAIS app on your smartphone (iPhone/iPad or Android) on board to report your ship's position directly to MarineTraffic, without the need to operate an AIS transponder.
There are at least 5 different methods for submitting your own position to MarineTraffic.
