How to Track Cargo Ships at Sea
A practical guide to cargo ship tracking: how to identify the vessel carrying your goods, follow it live on AIS, read its ETA and port calls, and avoid common tracking mistakes.
Maritime intelligence, explained.
Vessel tracking, AIS data, sanctions screening and port intelligence — insights from the team behind Navtrac.
What Do AIS Vessel Data Fields Mean?
A field-by-field guide to AIS vessel data: identity, position, speed, course, heading, navigational status, destination and ETA, and how to read AIS tracking data correctly.
How to Find a Vessel Using MMSI
How to find a vessel by MMSI: what an MMSI number is, how to read its country code, where to find it, and how to run an MMSI lookup to track the vessel live.
How to Find a Ship Using IMO Number
Learn how to find a ship by IMO number: where to locate a vessel IMO number, how to check it is valid, and how to run an IMO number lookup and track the vessel live.
How Does AIS Tracking Work?
How does AIS tracking work? Follow a ship's position from its transponder to a live map: VHF broadcasts, shore and satellite receivers, and AIS vessel tracking platforms.
AIS vs GPS: What's the Difference?
AIS vs GPS explained: how GPS tracking finds a position, how AIS tracking shares it with other ships, and why AIS vessel tracking needs both.
Why Hybrid Tracking Matters in Global Shipping
Oceans are vast, shipping routes cross multiple jurisdictions and vessels routinely move between areas with very different levels of tracking infrastructure. For maritime professionals, maintaining visibility throughout that journey is an important operational challenge.
Vessel Tracking Has Evolved Beyond a Dot on the Map
For many years, Vessel Tracking was primarily about answering a simple question: Where is the ship? Today, that question is only the beginning.
The Future of Maritime Intelligence Is Unified
Global shipping generates an enormous amount of information every minute. Vessel positions, AIS transmissions, port calls, voyage history, sanctions records, safety information, weather conditions, fleet activity and regulatory data all influence decisions across the maritime industry.
Dedicated API Services: Build Vessel Intelligence Directly Into Your Own Systems
Navtrac's Dedicated API Services put live vessel, risk, and port data directly into your own platform via a documented REST API — no dashboard required.
What Is Vessel Tracking? AIS, Satellite AIS, and the "Dark Fleet" Problem Hybrid Tracking Solves
AIS is the backbone of vessel tracking — but it was never designed to see the small craft, going-dark tankers, and IUU fishing boats that make up much of the "dark fleet." Here's how hybrid tracking closes that gap.