MarineTraffic displays timestamps across many screens — vessel arrivals, departures, ETAs, port calls, and more. Because users work in different contexts, you can choose how all of these times are shown throughout the app.
Accessing timezone settings
Open the Account page from the app menu.
Scroll to the right and tap Units preferences.
Select the Timezone tab.
Timezone options
UTC — Coordinated Universal Time.
All timestamps are shown in UTC with a clear offset label (e.g. 11:55 UTC). This is the global standard used in maritime and aviation, and the best choice if you monitor vessels across multiple regions.
Local time — Time at the relevant location.
Timestamps reflect the local timezone of the location being viewed — for example, port local time when browsing port activity, or the vessel's position timezone otherwise. Useful when tracking operations in a specific region.
Device time — Your device's timezone.
All timestamps are converted to your phone's current timezone. The most intuitive option for everyday personal use.
Whichever option you choose, the timezone offset is always shown alongside the time (e.g. 08:37 UTC+2), so you always know which zone you're reading.
Where your preference applies
Your chosen timezone is applied consistently across:
Port activity — vessel arrival and departure times.
Arrivals & Departures tabs — times shown per vessel at port.
Expected arrivals — both scheduled and predicted times.
Current voyage — departure time and ETA to destination.
Port calls list — arrival and departure times per stop.
Current position — last position update timestamp (e.g. Data received on 15 Apr 10:25).
ETA to my location — shown in your preferred zone since it's personal and actionable.
Vessel track route timeline — timestamped rows in the speed/position log.
Vessel track events log — timestamped entries such as area entries or exits.
What stays fixed
Some times are intentionally not affected by your preference:
Port's own local time — when viewing a port's local time (e.g. Time at port: 17:29 UTC+8), this always reflects the port's actual local timezone. Changing it to your device time would be misleading.
Relative durations — expressions like "3m ago" or "Last update 9 minutes ago" are zone-agnostic and stay as-is.
Time to destination — durations such as "9h to destination" are a length of time, not a clock time, and are unaffected.
Distances and bearings — values like 7,352 nm 84° are not timestamps and are never converted.
Tips
Your preference is saved to your profile and applies across all devices.
UTC is recommended for professional and multi-region use — it matches the standard used in vessel AIS data.
You can change your preference at any time from Units preferences — all timestamps update immediately.
Vessel Speed and Coordinates format preferences are also available in the same panel.