AIS Vessel Tracker is a self-hosted vessel tracking application. It shows vessels currently transmitting AIS (Automatic Identification System) position reports on a live map, keeps a permanent record of every vessel ever seen, and can alert you to distress signals and to vessels entering areas you define.
This server only displays data fed into it by AIS receivers (or the included simulator) - it does not transmit anything itself, and is not a substitute for official navigation equipment, ECDIS, or a certified AIS transceiver.
For the full manual - every feature explained in detail, plus a glossary of AIS terms - open the complete user guide:
Map: drag to pan, scroll/pinch to zoom. Switch basemaps (OpenStreetMap, NZ Topo50, NZ Marine, NZ Aerial) with the layers control in the top-right corner. Right-click anywhere to see that location's GPS position and optionally drop a marker there.
Live tab: lists vessels currently transmitting within the visible map area. Type in its search box to search all live vessels regardless of what's on screen.
Search register tab: searches every vessel this server has ever seen, by name, callsign or MMSI - including ones whose track has since expired.
Clicking a vessel (on the map or in either list) opens its detail panel with full particulars and its most recent track drawn on the map.
Coordinate format (top bar dropdown): choose decimal degrees, degrees + decimal minutes, or degrees/minutes/seconds for every position shown in the app. Your choice is remembered in this browser.
My Markers tab: add your own named markers (private to this browser) by clicking "+ Add marker" or right-clicking the map. Click a marker to see its details, or edit/ delete it.
Alerts (bell icon): shows a running, session-only list of distress and geofence alerts as they arrive, with a toast notification and - for distress alerts - a pulsing red vessel icon. The permanent alert history and geofence rule configuration live in the admin panel.
Icon colour and shape follow AIS-Catcher's own convention, so this map reads the same way if you're already familiar with it.
Why don't I see any vessels? This server only shows vessels that have sent it
data. Point an AIS receiver (or AIS-Catcher) at its TCP/UDP/HTTP ingestion ports, or run
tools/simulate.js for synthetic test traffic - see the admin panel's Feeders tab to
confirm data is arriving.
Why is a vessel's name/type missing or wrong? Names, types and other static details only arrive periodically (AIS message types 5/24), separately from position reports - a newly-appeared vessel may take a few minutes to show its name. An administrator can also manually correct these in the admin panel.
Why did a vessel disappear? A track closes after a configurable period (60 minutes by default) with no new position from that vessel. It's still in the permanent register - find it under "Search register".
Are my custom markers visible to anyone else? No - they're stored only in this browser (localStorage) and never sent to the server.
What triggers a distress alert? Navigational status 14 (AIS-SART/MOB/EPIRB active), an MMSI in the 970/972/974 device ranges, or a SAR aircraft position report (message type 9) - see the full user guide for details.