What is AIS?
AIS (Automatic Identification System) is a technology that was originally designed for collision avoidance. The IMO requirement for all vessels over 299GT to carry an AIS transponder on board came into force in December 2004. The relevant rule is Regulation 19, Chapter V of SOLAS.

What do the colour coded triangles mean?

• Green - Vessel sailing at 0.5 knots or faster.
• Yellow - Vessel stopped or sailing at less than 0.5 Knots.
• Red - Ship sailed beyond our coverage area or (rarely) have switched off their AIS temporarily. The signal was lost between 15 and 30 minutes ago and will be removed from the chart after 30 minutes.
• Grey - Ship sailed within our coverage area in the past, but is not currently in our coverage area. The ship's last known position is shown by the following image Last known position.

What format is the date in?
Date is in European format so 12/11/07 means 12th November 2007.

How do I search for a ship?
Type in the name of the ship you're looking for in the box on the left of the screen.

What is UTC?
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is a high-precision atomic time standard. UTC has uniform seconds defined by International Atomic Time (TAI), with leap seconds announced at irregular intervals to compensate for the earth's slowing rotation and other discrepancies. Leap seconds allow UTC to closely track Universal Time (UT), a time standard based not on the uniform passage of seconds, but on Earth's angular rotation.

From wikipedia

My port is not covered, how do I get it on the system?
You just need an AIS receiver, VHF antenna and a TCP/IP converter. We can package this up as a ready to install kit. Click here for more information.

What do I get as a subscriber?
You can search for vessels with our powerful search tool. There is also a great deal more detail on each chart. In addition we have developed state of the art notice of arrival functionality. This enables you to monitor the progress of one or more vessels and be alerted by email the second they arrive at a pre-determined 'trigger zone'.Click on Services tab to see the triggers functionality.

How do I advertise on AISLive.com?
There are three available adverts on each page on the website. Click here for details on cost and how you can reach over 105,000 maritime professionals.

If your question is not answered here, please contact Customer Care.