Remote AIS monitoring

[Byekurman]

AIS remote monitoring...Is there an app that I can download that would tell me if my AIS is transmitting. My boat is in a marina about 75 miles from my home. I would like to see from my home if it is on. Ideas?

 

[Scottwb96]

Try Marine Traffic. I use it on my Android and iOS and it works great. You can group your friends into a "fleet" and see where everyone is at any given time...

 

[Alaskaflyer]

I too use MarineTraffic. Though, be advised, assuming for a moment that your AIS is class B and does not have a satellite uplink function, it only will show vessel locations and status of a vessel that is transmitting within range of a shore-based station, some of which are commercial, some of which are run by volunteers such as Ham Radio types. I imagine in coastal VA there are a fair number of stations, but up where I boat, there are large areas outside of shore station coverage so you are visible to other boats within range receiving AIS but invisible to websites and apps like MarineTraffic.

 

[LenBuchanan]

I too use MarineTraffic. My wife and I did a cruise up Lake Michigan to Lake Superior/Duluth and back. MarineTraffic allowed our friends back at our marina to see where we were at. It also saved my butt a few times. We were up off the U.P of Michigan awaiting the fog to lift to start our way up the St. Mary's River to the 'Soo'. We were told by 'Soo Traffic' which controls shipping to the Soo locks that the locks were closed due to fog and that we had a ship anchored less than 1/4 mile away from us. We couldn't tell the ship from the many islands in the area, but using the MarineTraffic app, I could see the ship and just how close they were to us.

 

[koliver]

AIS remote monitoring...Is there an app that I can download that would tell me if my AIS is transmitting. My boat is in a marina about 75 miles from my home. I would like to see from my home if it is on. Ideas?

I have used "Boatbeacon" for several years. I downloaded it to my Android phone for a small fee ($10 IIRC). 2 yrs ago I changed to an iphone, and couldn't transfer the app, as apparently nothing transfers easily between Android and Apple.
This time the app can be purchased alone or paired with a navigation app, called SeaNav, which is how I bought it. I like the pairing, as it puts the AIS information on the chart accurately, quickly, and in REAL TIME.
Marine Traffic has quite a lag, by comparison, which I have done many times, as my home looks out on Houstoun Passage, a shipping route, so there are several AIS targets every day that I can see on both my phone and my computer (running Marine Traffic) at the same time.
The failure of this and any other internet or cell based app is that when you or your target leave cell or internet range, your target simply disappears.

 

[rwidman]

marinetraffic.com should show your boat's position if it is docked in an area covered by marinetraffic.com.

Their system relies on individuals and businesses who install an antenna and receiver which feed data to their website.

marinetraffic.com is free so it costs nothing to find out if this works for your boat.

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-80.005/centery:32.752/zoom:16

 

[porman]

My wife has Marine Traffic on her phone. One day she said there was a boat headed straight at us. There were no other boats in sight. We watched that boats' icon pass right through our icon and keep going. Ghost boat?

 

[rwidman]

My wife has Marine Traffic on her phone. One day she said there was a boat headed straight at us. There were no other boats in sight. We watched that boats' icon pass right through our icon and keep going. Ghost boat?

marinetraffic.com should not be thought of as any sort of navigation or safety device or "app". Never!

It's interesting to see where boats are and you can follow your friend's boats as they travel around the world, but if you think marinetraffic.com is any sort of substitute for a real AIS receiver, you are seriously mistaken.

If a target boat turns off its AIS transmissions or moves out of range of a receiving station, the icon will often continue to be shown for several hours. I don't know about on a phone, but on a computer, you can see how long ago the last signal was received from a particular target.

 

[rwidman]

Folks, please Do Not use marinetraffic.com or any similar apps while on your boat as a substitute for an actual AIS receiver.

Only an actual AIS receiver (or transceiver) will reliably show AIS targets in the vicinity of your boat in real time. This cannot be done with a phone or tablet.

 

[twistedtree]

My wife has Marine Traffic on her phone. One day she said there was a boat headed straight at us. There were no other boats in sight. We watched that boats' icon pass right through our icon and keep going. Ghost boat?

Exactly. I would treat MarineTraffic as an entertainment tool only. I have seen it off in so many ways, by such a significant amount, that it should never be relied on for anything important.


If you can use it to identify a boat as LenBuchanan did, great, that's all good. Just don't count on it as assurance that a boat is NOT there.


And if it confirms that your AIS is transmitting, that's great too. Just don't assume your AIS isn't working if it doesn't show up on MarineTraffic. Odds are as good or better that it's a MarineTraffic problem, not your AIS.

 

[Portage_Bay]

I agree with those who state that Marine Traffic and for that matter other similar sites are not to be used as primary nav and collision avoidance aids. However they can provide a very real safety enhancement. When approaching a busy shipping channel or port. When navigating a river used by heavy (as in big deep draft) traffic I use Marine Traffic or Vessel Finder to "look ahead". I will have cell coverage in those areas and I can use the app to get a heads up of traffic. It does not take the place of the AIS transeiver diplaying vessels on the plotter. I don't make navigation or collision avoidance decisions on Marine Traffic data.

An example would be running the Columbia River anywhere between the bar and Portland. I'm expecting to encounter heavy traffic that must navigte within the dredged channel. The AIS transciever is limited by VHF capabilities. It may or may not "see" a ship 25 miles up or down the river. In this example the Hanjin Sevenhatcher is making 15 knots SOG, I'm making 8 knots SOG for a closing speed of 23 knots over the river bottom. (Yes, I know, I'm mixing and matching statute miles and nautical miles here. That's because the river is charted in statute miles and Marine Traffic displays speeds in knots.) Keeping in mind the limits and reliability of Marine Traffic I can expect to put eyes on the Hanjin Sevenhatcher in about an hour when we're 25 miles apart. What that does for me is give me well in advance the ship's name and what part of the river we can expect to meet in. I am well prepared well in advance. I don't like surprises or last minute decisions.

 

[porman]

I probably should have noted that we do not use the Marine Traffic app on her phone for navigation. When this event occurred the ghost boat did not show up on my chartplotter.

 

[Pdxstriper]

Folks, please Do Not use marinetraffic.com or any similar apps while on your boat as a substitute for an actual AIS receiver.

Only an actual AIS receiver (or transceiver) will reliably show AIS targets in the vicinity of your boat in real time. This cannot be done with a phone or tablet.

Thank you. I was about to make this same post. People, a web-based service has all kinds of possible failures including delays in updating positions, vessels appearing then disappearing then reappearing (all the time in plain sight). You can buy a vhf radio with AIS receive capability for like $200. Be safe out there!