Live Marine Traffic Maps
Since 2004, the International Maritime Organization has required all vessels of 300 or more gross tons to carry an AIS transponder, which transponder transmits position, speed and course and other information about the ship. MarineTraffic.com takes that data and plots it on a map. The data is updated every hour — close enough to real-time. Think about it: this is a near-real-time map of every ship on the planet above a certain size. Mind-boggling. Via Cartophilia.
Previously: ESA Maps European Shipping Routes.
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The Map Room is a blog about maps by
Our nephew in the Merchant Marine said some ship positions are censored in sensitive locations; pirates etc.
November 6, 2009 at 9:37 PM
Yes this is a great idea for all commercial boats. Piracy is a big problem out there, I would want the transponder regardless of my size.
November 9, 2009 at 9:24 PM