The MarineTraffic website has derived from a community-driven project that was based on research collaboration among global academics and the development of existing Information & Communication Technology (ICT). It has always been (and still is) dedicated to collecting and presenting data which can be exploited in research areas such as, but not limited to, the following:
Study of marine telecommunications in respect of efficiency and propagation parameters
Simulation of vessel movements in order to contribute to the safety of navigation and to cope with critical incidents
Interactive information systems design
Design of databases providing real-time information
Statistical processing of ports' traffic with applications in operational research
Design of models for the spotting of the origin of pollution-related incidents
Design of efficient algorithms for sea path evaluation and for determining the estimated time of ship arrivals
Correlation of the collected information with weather data
Cooperation with Institutes dedicated to the protection of the environment
Please check a short introductory video
The steadily growing interest regarding the MarineTraffic project enabled it to become a world leader in vessel-tracking. Nowadays, through its website, it provides free near real-time information to the public regarding vessels' positions and movements as well as other related information (e.g. ports' traffic, voyage details), mainly across the coastlines of most countries around the world together with a series of related services.
Click next, for a quick and interesting journey around MarineTraffic!