Intersting but uselesss site

[Lowrider]

ShipAIS- Current AIS map

Shows the position of every ship in the UK

[TOMMY NEPTUNE]

Fantastic site, the fact that I can see the Sea from where I'm sitting,(albeit a gap between the houses opposite) makes it all the more interesting... great to be able to put names and details to the ships I see daily, Ive added it to my list of favorites. cheers mate.

[Lowrider]

Wonder if it shows netters

[alan]

"Interesting but useless"
not sure about your title,I like the site
Good link

[Lowrider]

"Interesting but useless"
not sure about your title,I like the site
Good link

Must admit i posted that last night after only a quick glance,but the more i explore it the more i find.

[davem2005]

Wonder if it shows netters

I was given a link to it a while back and as I understand it the images shown are based on a combination of radar reflections and MMSI number information to identify the ship.

Its a commercial site for frieght carriers to allow them to track their ships and plan arrival times etc on a subscription basis. As far as I am aware it does not track all ships only those that subscribe.

There is a system operated by the government that satelitte tracks ALL fishing vessels over 14 Metres. Off course we do not get access to that although you can get historical data from it about vessel movements if you know who to ask.

I recently asked about a pair of vessels an angler suspected of pair trawling one of our beaches in the middle of the night. I was told only one 14 mtr+ vessel was in the area and that left the 6 mile zone without ever stopping. This statement was also qualified by the person saying that it does not mean the area was not pair trawled...it just means it wasn't trawlled by a boat who's tracking system was functioning. A statement that was backed up by an email I recieved later that week with a newspaper report about a skipper down south facing court charges which included the charge of "Interfering with satelitte monitoring equipment.

Myself and another angler from here have been offered a chance to see the government satelite system in operation in real time within the next few weeks....rest assured I will write a full report on here.

Cheers
Dave

[Lowrider]

Interesting,though i have seen ships with " engaged in fishing" as a description

[alan]

Good info Dave,look forward to reading your future report on it.
Is there a similar site for International/world wide ports/waters etc,I know someone that would be interested in it

[davem2005]

Alan,
I think that the AIS system is worldwide. If you read their advertising under the subscribe tab on the liverpool page you will see it says you can track your vessels " across the globe". I assume there are equivalent pages for the rest of the world.

There is no reason why a fishing vessel should not registered with that scheme to allow those in the office to follow the vessels progress and know when its due in port. Similar to some couriers ( but not all) use data tracking on their land vehicles.

The last time I watched it the CEFAS fisheries survey vessel was trawling about 1/2 mile off south shileds pier. One of the only vessels allowed to "break the law" by being an over 14 metre boat and coming inside the six mile limit and also using undersize mesh to catch all species. the Sea Fisheries Committee had been advised it was working in the region accordingly.

Lets hope that one day the satellite data will be available online.

Cheers
Dave

[alan]

cheers Dave