FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
AIS Tracking
- What is AIS ?
- Do all ships transmit AIS data ?
- What kind of information is transmitted over AIS ?
- What do the orange and blue symbols mean on the map view ?
- Why are some or all of the ships in my region not visible on vesseltracker ?
- We need an easy way to track the vessels operated by our company. What can you offer us?
- In what form can I get vessel information from vesseltracker ?
- Why is the IMO number / name / etc. not correct for ship XYZ ?
- Why can't I find vessel XYZ in your database ?
- Why is the name of ship XYZ incomplete or wrong ?
Google Earth
- What do the green, red and white symbols mean on Google Earth ?
- Why do I see the name of every ship twice or even three times ?
- How can I find a ship in Google Earth ?
- Why can't I see any vessels in Google Earth ?
Maritime Photo Community
- I am a ship photographer and would like to provide my photos on vesseltracker.
- How does the photographer ranking work ?
- I can't find the vessel for which I want to upload a photo.
Problems with the website
- I can't log in / log out anymore
- I can't see any vessels on the maps anymore
- I can't upload photos anymore
- I can't create alerts anymore
What is AIS ?
AIS stands for Automatic Identification System. It was introduced by the IMO (International Maritime Organization) for improving safety in the maritime traffic. All ships equipped with AIS transponders exchange their current movement data such as position, course and speed as well as other additional information via the VHF channels 87B and 88B. Also, ever more navigation aids are equipped with AIS base station transponders.
Do all ships transmit AIS data ?
For vessels on international voyages AIS is mandatory from the registered tonnage of 300 BRZ. For vessels on national voyages it is mandatory from 500 BRZ. For passenger ships the regulation is as follows:
International voyages:
- All passenger ships and all other ships with registered tonnage >300 BRZ since 2004
National voyages:
- All passenger ships and all other ships with registered tonnage >500 BRZ until 1. July, 2008
What kind of information is transmitted over AIS ?
Vessel name, callsign, MMSI number (user ID), IMO number, position, course over ground, speed over ground, true heading, rate of turn, length, beam, draught, type of vessel, navigational status, destination and estimated time of arrival.
1. Static Information:
- IMO Nummer (if available)
- Name
- Callsign
- Dimensions (length, beam, reference point)
- Type of ship
2. Dynamic Information:
- Current Position
- Time in UTC when the position was measured
- Course over ground
- Speed over ground
- true heading
- Navigational Status (e.g. restricted manouverability)
- Rate of turn
3. Voyage specific information:
- Draught
- Type of cargo
- Destination port and estimated time of arrival
- Routenplan (optional)
What do the orange and blue symbols mean on the map view ?
Blue - Ship is moving
Orange - Ship is not moving
Why are some or all of the ships in my region not visible on vesseltracker ?
Our AIS network is still being expanded. Currently it does not cover all the regions you might be looking for. We are always interested in good new antenna places. If you would like to cooperate with us to cover your region, please contact us.
We need an easy way to track the vessels operated by our company. What can you offer us?
We can highlight the vessels which are most interesting to you, for example by displaying them in a different color. Please contact us.
In what form can I get vessel information from vesseltracker ?
We can give you the data in almost any format (XML, CSV, etc.). It all depends on your needs. Contact us.
Why is the IMO number / name / etc. not correct for ship XYZ ?
All the information in our database comes directly from the ships via AIS. If the data entered in the AIS transpornder on board is not correct, then the information in our database might also be incorrect. However, as AIS information will be validated more and more by the authorities, in the future (nearly) all the information should be correct.
Why can't I find vessel XYZ in your database ?
In our database you can find all those vessels which we have received AIS data from. This means that the following vessels might be missing:
- Ships, that do not have an AIS transponder (e.g. military vessels, small units)
- Ships, that have not visited one of our covered regions yet.
Why is the name of ship XYZ incomplete or wrong ?
The AIS system limits ship names to a maximal length of 20 characters. Therefore, longer names are often abbreviated or cut off at the end. For example, the german authority boat "Bürgermeister Weichmann" can be found as "BUERGERMEISTER WEICH" in our system.
What do the green, red and white symbols mean on Google Earth ?
Green - Ship is moving
Red - Ship is not moving
White - Course and movement status is not yet clear, because we have received too little information from the ship yet.
Why do I see the name of every ship twice or even three times ?
You have opened our KMZ file more than once in Google Earth. In the folder "Places" under "My Places" or "Temporary Places", there are probably more than one file named "vesseltracker_xxxx.kmz" or "vesseltrackerlight.kmz". You should remove all but one of these files.
How can I find a ship in Google Earth ?
Press the keys <Ctrl>+<F>, then enter the ship name into the search field that comes up in the left sidebar, and press Enter. Google Earth now shows you the ship in the list.
Why can't I see any vessels in Google Earth ?
For AIS Tracking with vesseltracker you need at least Google Earth version 4! Please check which version you have and update to version 4 if applicable.
You find the online update function in the "Help" menu under "Check for Updates Online".
I am a ship photographer and would like to provide my photos on vesseltracker.
Please register for our Free Account. Than you can upload your photos and comment them. Click here to register now.
How does the photographer ranking work ?
We use the following ranking criteria:
- to enter the ranking, you need to upload at least 50 photos
- there are three criteria (in the order most important first)
- Average user rating of your photos. Photos without user ratings count as 0 points here.
- Number of different vessels you have supplied pictures of
- Overall number of pictures
For each of these criteria a maximum score of 100% can be reached.
I can't find the vessel for which I want to upload a photo.
We have only those vessels in our database, that have an AIS transponder and have visited our covered areas.
At the moment it is not possible to add missing vessels manually. We're sorry.
Problems with the website
- I can't log in / log out anymore
- I can't see any vessels on the maps anymore
- I can't upload photos anymore
- I can't create alerts anymore
Manual to delete temporary internet files
