Marine Traffic Help

[Benthic2]

Does anyone have a membership to Marine Traffic, and be willing to look up a vessel for me ? It's travelling from Bermuda to Massachusetts and the last reported speed was 1 knot.

The name is Namaste but its easier to look it up with the MMSI 310790000

Thanks in advance.

 

[soin2la]

Is this regular, free version of MT not accurate?
https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ai...d:6085429/mmsi:310790000/imo:0/vessel:NAMASTE

 

[Benthic2]

I belive it is but that position was over 2 days ago. Do AIS transmitters come in 2 types, vhf and satelite ? Maybe they need to be in range of a land based reveiver because I can see other vessels that are in the middle of the ocean. Thank you for your effort though. I appreciate it.

 

[soin2la]

You are correct. Sorry, I didn't note the dateosition Received: 2023-07-01 10:14 LT (UTC -4).

Not many pleasure craft show up out there, maybe it's the difference between A and B AIS?

 

[MYTraveler]

My buddy's class b boat shows up as unidentified / satellite when he is offshore. As I understand it, MarineTraffic has the data for satellite signals, they just charge for it.

 

[O C Diver]

I belive it is but that position was over 2 days ago. Do AIS transmitters come in 2 types, vhf and satelite ? Maybe they need to be in range of a land based reveiver because I can see other vessels that are in the middle of the ocean. Thank you for your effort though. I appreciate it.

Yes, there is satellite AIS. AIS is tracked through land based stations. Vessels that travel hundreds of miles from land can also have satellite transmissions for their information broadcast.

Ted

 

[Jeff F]

My buddy's class b boat shows up as unidentified / satellite when he is offshore. As I understand it, MarineTraffic has the data for satellite signals, they just charge for it.

Yep. Satellites pick up pretty much all of the vhf-based AIS signals. I think you can pay Marine Traffic to get satellite tracking for a specific boat.

Sent from my moto g play (2021) using Trawler Forum mobile app

 

[Benthic2]

Thanks guys

 

[Jeff F]

Yes, there is satellite AIS. AIS is tracked through land based stations. Vessels that travel hundreds of miles from land can also have satellite transmissions for their information broadcast.



Ted

Satellite communication is not part of the AIS standard. Lots of vessels have both AIS and sat comms as two distinct systems.

AIS is entirely VHF based. Satellites can listen in, just like land stations do.

Sent from my moto g play (2021) using Trawler Forum mobile app

 

[Eli27]

FWIW, I just looked up on my app, Boat beacon, and searched the mmsi and nothing came up. But when i searched the name, about 15 boats came up but none of the mmsi numbers match, not even close.

 

[Benthic2]

Thanks Eli. They are due home tomorrow. I suspect that they will be visible again when they are closer to land.

 

[twistedtree]

I wouldn't put much faith on Marine Traffic. So much of it is hit or miss. It's interesting and fun when it shows what you are looking for, but if something appears missing or incorrect, I wouldn't read anything into it. And don't expect it to show everything.

 

[O C Diver]

Satellite communication is not part of the AIS standard. Lots of vessels have both AIS and sat comms as two distinct systems.

AIS is entirely VHF based. Satellites can listen in, just like land stations do.

Sent from my moto g play (2021) using Trawler Forum mobile app

I'm quite aware of how AIS works and that it's VHF based between boats and ships. It's my understanding that commercial units can be purchased with satellite uplink in addition to VHF ship to ship transmissions.

Ted

 

[rslifkin]

I'm quite aware of how AIS works and that it's VHF based between boats and ships. It's my understanding that commercial units can be purchased with satellite uplink in addition to VHF ship to ship transmissions.

Ted

The satellite comportment isn't a separate uplink. It's just satellites listening for the VHF signals. There's a message that most newer AIS transmitters can optionally transmit that's meant to be a bit easier to receive by the satellites with marginal signal though.

 

[Hippocampus]

Good review of AIS A,B,B+

https://www.mby.com/gear/ais-b-plus-explained-104136

Wife likes tracking us and friends on MarineTraffic. Even in coastal settings it’s sometimes hours or days before we show up. Drives me nuts when people say they use MarineTraffic as an aid to navigation. A great tool for a fleet manager in a commercial setting. Worthless for immediate situation awareness.

 

[MYTraveler]

The satellite comportment isn't a separate uplink. It's just satellites listening for the VHF signals. There's a message that most newer AIS transmitters can optionally transmit that's meant to be a bit easier to receive by the satellites with marginal signal though.

This is my understanding, and experience, as well.

 

[Portage_Bay]

Good review of AIS A,B,B+

https://www.mby.com/gear/ais-b-plus-explained-104136

Wife likes tracking us and friends on MarineTraffic. Even in coastal settings it’s sometimes hours or days before we show up. Drives me nuts when people say they use MarineTraffic as an aid to navigation. A great tool for a fleet manager in a commercial setting. Worthless for immediate situation awareness.

Agree. Marine Traffic is the wrong tool for aid to nav and collision avoidance. I do find it has a valid use when approaching a busy port. It can give me a heads-up on traffic beyond the range of my AIS. I will know to be on the lookout for the big ships that will soon display on my system. It can make planning my approach and dealing with VTS lanes easier. It won't catch the all but it can help.

 

[Benthic2]

That article was helpful. Thanks for posting that Hippocampus. I have a hard time accepting that a 5 watt transmitter is able to reach a satelite orbiting 100+ miles above the earth, but I know it does because the system works.....it is just one of those facts that sets off my little internal logic alarm.

 

[seacat96]

I just looked - Vessel appears to be in Camden Maine - arrived from Bermuda. Signal received 5 hours ago

 

[BobMc]

Does anyone have a membership to Marine Traffic, and be willing to look up a vessel for me ? It's travelling from Bermuda to Massachusetts and the last reported speed was 1 knot.

The name is Namaste but its easier to look it up with the MMSI 310790000

Thanks in advance.

Just to correct some misinformation. A class B receiver (recreational boat) will only show up on MT when it's within range of a receiver station (about UHF distance). A class B will also show up if a ship with a class A receiver is also running a receiver station (like some of the cruise ships do). Otherwise, there won't be any signal. They do not show up as a satellite based transmitter unless they actually have a satellite transmitter (mostly only commercial vessels). If the signal is older than X number of days, it may show up in the same location for a period of time, but then will disappear.

If your buddy is going straight from Bermuda to Boston, the transmitter will be out of range most of the time unless a ship with a satellite and receiver station happens to pick it up.

You don't have to have a paid version to use MT, but there are a few advantages (like being able to see nautical charts and getting notices of boat movements). If you run your own MT station, you get some of the paid stuff as a thank you!

 

[Jeff F]

Just to correct some misinformation. A class B receiver (recreational boat) will only show up on MT when it's within range of a receiver station (about UHF distance).

Satellites listen to Class B. Sometimes in heavy traffic areas the signal is lost, but they'll be tracked by satellites between Bermuda and the US.

Whether MT chooses to share the data is a separate issue.

Agree that there's lots of misinformation.

Sent from my moto g play (2021) using Trawler Forum mobile app

 

[twistedtree]

Just to correct some misinformation. A class B receiver (recreational boat) will only show up on MT when it's within range of a receiver station (about UHF distance). A class B will also show up if a ship with a class A receiver is also running a receiver station (like some of the cruise ships do). Otherwise, there won't be any signal. They do not show up as a satellite based transmitter unless they actually have a satellite transmitter (mostly only commercial vessels). If the signal is older than X number of days, it may show up in the same location for a period of time, but then will disappear.

If your buddy is going straight from Bermuda to Boston, the transmitter will be out of range most of the time unless a ship with a satellite and receiver station happens to pick it up.

You don't have to have a paid version to use MT, but there are a few advantages (like being able to see nautical charts and getting notices of boat movements). If you run your own MT station, you get some of the paid stuff as a thank you!

I don't believe there is any such thing as an AIS satellite transmitter. All AIS transmissions are via VHF radio frequencies. A "satellite" AIS signal is a VHF signal that has been received by a Satellite, not something that has been transmitted via some different means. So essentially there are satellites that listen in on AIS VHF.


There are issues receiving from satellites because the AIS access control protocol is local to AIS stations that can hear each other. So you can have two AIS stations using the same TDM timeslot, as long as they are far enough away from each other. But those will both be head by a satellite and it takes some trickery to separate them.


As usual Wikipedia have a good article on it.

 

[BobMc]

Here's what MT has to say about the subject:
Vessel Satellite Tracking
All MarineTraffic users have free access to vessels' positions recorded by our network of terrestrial AIS-receiving stations. However, the typical range of them is limited to a certain distance. Thus, if a vessel is sailing in a remote area, she may appear to be Out of Range. Satellite-AIS comes as an ideal supplement in such cases as it allows you to track a vessel via satellite.

Note: If you are interested in certain vessels, you can always check whether newer positions of them are available via Satellite-AIS. Please open the respective vessel's detail page. From there, you can see whether newer positions via Satellite AIS are available.
Details_page_Satellite_message.png
In order to enable Satellite-AIS tracking, you may consider one of our Plans or add-on, depending on your business needs:

the Sat Flexible add-on will allow you to get undelayed global coverage for the number of vessels you choose

the Professional Plan besides the numerous features included will allow you to track 1 Vessel of your choice via satellite

The Professional Plus Plan besides the numerous features included will allow you to track up to 10 Vessel of your choice via satellite

The Global Satellite Plan besides the numerous features included will allow you to track unlimited vessels during via satellite
The Fleet Operations Solution besides the numerous features included will allow you to track unlimited vessels during via satellite, and encompasses Inmarsat-C and VSAT integrations
As soon as you purchase one of our SAT products, please make sure to add the Vessel/s you would like to track via Satellite under your Fleet and activate the SAT Flex button as described below.

 

[Jeff F]

Here's what MT has to say about the subject:

Show us where it says it's not available for class B AIS without a satellite transmitter, or requires additional hardware.

Sent from my moto g play (2021) using Trawler Forum mobile app

 

[BobMc]

Show us where it says it's not available for class B AIS without a satellite transmitter, or requires additional hardware.

Sent from my moto g play (2021) using Trawler Forum mobile app

Wrong. Show me where it says it is! It's clear that it is available only with a satellite-AIS from the web site. What I quoted isn't the only place. Check it out yourself rather than guessing!

 

[Jeff F]

Wrong. Show me where it says it is! It's clear that it is available only with a satellite-AIS from the web site. What I quoted isn't the only place. Check it out yourself rather than guessing!

Ok, show us a satellite-AIS device. Where can I buy one?

Sent from my moto g play (2021) using Trawler Forum mobile app

 

[ssteakley]

Here is a recent position

[see photo

 

[4fun1]

Tried to upload a copy of Satellite AIS for Dummies but was too big. You can Google it if you wish. .

 

[rcsomany]

Namaste's past track for the last 24 hours or so

Looks like a vessel at anchor to me.

 

[High Wire]

Massachusetts vs Camden Maine? Ooopppsss!