MarineTraffic, the world’s most trusted AIS vessel tracking service, has released density maps showing global ship movements for the years 2013 and 2014. Its 2014 density map is based on a data subset that consists of over three billion vessel positions.
marinetraffic.com/en/p/
In 2014, vessels around the world sailed more than 200, 000 different routes.
The data that has been amalgamated to create these density maps comes from MarineTraffic’s own extensive network of 2000 AIS receiving stations located in more than 165 countries across the world and via its AIS satellite network partner Orbcomm.
The density maps are available to all users of MarineTraffic. A crossfade feature allows vessel movements from 2013 and 2014 to be compared.
For PRO, SAT and SAT PRO account users, a filter feature enables the movements of different ship-types and sizes to be viewed in contrast with others or individually.
Examining the density maps in detail, one can discover changes in patterns in vessel traffic between 2014 and 2013. For example, ships sailed far closer to the Somalian coast in 2014 than 2013 and in greater numbers. Congestion outside the Port of Los Angeles is clearly visible in 2014 compared to 2013. Increased traffic from east coast South America to Asia round the Cape of Good Hope can also be seen comparing the two maps.
A six-month density map for 2015 will be released in July, which will show the effect of new emission control area (ECA) regulation that entered into force on 1 January 2015, requiring ships within ECAs to burn distillate fuel with a sulphur content of less than 0.1%.
Historical AIS data is stored and managed in databases, which contain over 20 billion historical ship positions and metadata from 2009 onwards.
MarineTraffic’s operations team based in Athens manage the company’s infrastructure and databases, overseeing data collection and the advanced algorithms that filter the pure AIS data as it comes in from ships, receiving stations and satellites.
Please see contact details below if you would like details on a specific trade route or piece of detail that can be seen in the density maps.
For further details please contact Tim Soare.
T: +44 (0)20 3326 8462
E: tsoare@navigatepr.com
MarineTraffic is the leading and most popular global AIS facility with over 600, 000 registered users and almost 20 million vessel positions registered each day. It is an open, community-based project providing free real-time information to the public about ship movements and ports mainly across the coast-lines of many countries around the world. The system is based on Automatic Identification System (AIS). Marine Traffic operates over 2, 000 AIS stations located in more than 165 countries across the world and delivers the most comprehensive AIS coastal tracking facility available today.
Through a partnership with Orbcomm, MarineTraffic also offers a satellite tracking facility for those vessels on ocean passages and out of range of coastal AIS stations. This allows vessels to be monitored in open ocean.
MarineTraffic attracts around 5 million unique visitors and almost 20 million visits to its website each month. More than 500, 000 users access MarineTraffic from mobile apps.
