AIS vessel tracking at the heart of smarter fleet operations
More than dots on a map
A vessel goes quiet. A ship leaves its planned route.
A port starts backing up. BigOceanData alerts you to what matters, helps you understand what happened and gives your team the context to act. When AIS drops out, Inmarsat-C and Iridium reporting help keep the operational picture intact.
Enterprise capability without enterprise complexity.
96%
BigOceanData clients
renew their contracts
80 million
Vessel position reports
every single day
4,500
Ports monitored
450K
Vessels tracked
Built for owners, operators and ship managers who need clearer fleet visibility and better decisions, day to day
Fleet Operations
Improve ETA confidence, monitor voyage performance, manage by exception and keep ship and shore aligned around the same operational picture.
Fisheries & Environmental Bodies
Track monitored fleets, protected areas and compliance activity across wide geographies with clearer situational awareness and historical context.
Insurers & Risk Managers
Assess exposure, investigate incidents and validate claims with trusted vessel context, voyage history and operational reporting.
Port & Terminals
Monitor arrivals, departures, congestion and turnaround to support berth planning, service coordination and better resource allocation.
Government & Regulators
Maintain oversight across regions, zones and fleets with stronger visibility, monitoring and auditability for faster, more informed decisions.
Trusted by teams who rely on maritime visibility every day
“Maersk needed the ability to track containers. After signing a two-year contract with BigOceanData in for vessel tracking services, Maersk extended and expanded the agreement for a further 30 months, covering three times the original number of vessels and nearly double the number of tracked containers. Maersk continues to use the BigOceanData SSAS service, a cost-effective, well-supported solution.”
Stephan Martinussen
Head of GVPC at Maersk
“Our contract renewal with BigOceanData is a testament to the continued excellence of service and support the team provides. BigOceanData has been and will continue to be one of our key service providers at VertomCory, helping us to enhance the service package we provide to our key clients.”
Neil Flower
Agency Director
“Crisis24 is a global risk management and security services company. We commissioned BigOceanData to provide us with a custom-designed vessel tracking and risk management platform for a range of applications with our insurance, marine and offshore oil & gas clients. BigOceanData was responsive to our requirements from the outset; pioneering new ideas to create exactly what we wanted.“
Crisis24
“BigOceanData played a key role in de-risking the return of our vessel, SARBAS, from the Persian Gulf at the onset of hostilities. Their team provided excellent support over a weekend, rapidly setting up frequent Inmarsat-C position updates, seamlessly integrated with AIS data, to support a safer transit. The solution was highly cost-effective and delivered with efficiency and professionalism throughout. The team are a pleasure to work with.”
Mark Robinson
Marine Director
Latest news and insights
Insights
Port Call Monitoring with AIS: Following the Vessel from Approach to Departure
A port call is a sequence of movements, not a timestamp. How AIS positions, port zones and voyage history support arrival planning, live coordination and post-voyage review – and where they stop being reliable. A port call is rarely a single arrival time. The vessel approaches, may wait at anchorage, enters the port, moves to a berth,Continue reading “Port Call Monitoring with AIS: Following the Vessel from Approach to Departure”
Insights
Bab el-Mandeb Shipping: How Houthi Threats Changed Vessel Behaviour
Reseach conducted by BigOceanData for TradeWinds The analysis is based on observations from BigOceanData’s global AIS vessel-tracking network, combining vessel positions collected across terrestrial and satellite sources. Among the months sampled, traffic through Bab el-Mandeb was highest in July 2026, then fell 18% in August after the Houthis announced a blockade of Saudi shipping. ComparedContinue reading “Bab el-Mandeb Shipping: How Houthi Threats Changed Vessel Behaviour”
Insights
Ship Security Alert System (SSAS): a practical guide for operators
What an SSAS actually does, which ships must carry one, where the alert goes when it is pressed, and why most operators discover their weak point during a test rather than an incident. Most SSAS documentation describes a button. That is accurate and almost entirely useless, because the button is the part that works. WhatContinue reading “Ship Security Alert System (SSAS): a practical guide for operators”
News
BigOceanData upgrades terrestrial AIS coverage worldwide, more than doubling vessel visibility in coastal waters
Denser terrestrial coverage strengthens the coastal half of BigOceanData’s combined terrestrial & satellite AIS feed, with an Asia-Pacific sample showing 2.5 times more vessels tracked & position updates arriving 43% sooner. London, 26 August 2026, BigOceanData today announced a significant upgrade to the terrestrial component behind its vessel tracking platform, substantially increasing the number of vesselsContinue reading “BigOceanData upgrades terrestrial AIS coverage worldwide, more than doubling vessel visibility in coastal waters “
Insights
Vessel Geofencing: How to Build AIS Alerts Your Team Will Actually Act On
Defining maritime zones, writing alert rules that earn attention, and avoiding the alert fatigue that quietly kills most monitoring set-ups. Vessel geofencing lets a maritime team draw a boundary around a port, anchorage, terminal, coastal region, offshore asset or sensitive area, and be told when a vessel interacts with it. Instead of checking a mapContinue reading “Vessel Geofencing: How to Build AIS Alerts Your Team Will Actually Act On”
Insights
How to Evaluate a Vessel Tracking Platform
Most tracking platforms look identical in a demo. Here is what actually separates them, what “satellite AIS” means in practice, and the questions to take into a vendor call. Every vessel tracking platform shows ships on a map. In a demo, they all look capable, they all have alerts, they all have history, and theyContinue reading “How to Evaluate a Vessel Tracking Platform”
Insights
What Happens When a Vessel Disappears From AIS?
AIS is the foundation of vessel tracking, but it was never designed for uninterrupted global coverage. When a vessel stops reporting, AIS Continuity maintains visibility using independent position sources already available on many ships.
Insights
We watched every large cargo Ship and Tanker in the Strait of Hormuz for 30 Days
BigOceanData monitored Strait of Hormuz vessel traffic for 30 days, analysing every qualifying cargo ship and tanker observed across the strait and its approaches. The results reveal a maritime corridor operating far outside its normal patterns. On a normal day, the Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s busiest energy corridors. In January, ourContinue reading “We watched every large cargo Ship and Tanker in the Strait of Hormuz for 30 Days”
Insights
Which vessel tracking platform is right for your team? MarineTraffic, VesselFinder, or BigOceanData?
“Should we use you, MarineTraffic or VesselFinder? “ It is a question we are asked directly, and it deserves a straight answer rather than a sales pitch. The short version: if you are an individual who needs vessel positions, or a business looking for standalone AIS data feeds, VesselFinder is a sensible place to start. If you are a large organisationContinue reading “Which vessel tracking platform is right for your team? MarineTraffic, VesselFinder, or BigOceanData?”
News, Press
BigOceanData launches Route Optimisation as part of its connected maritime operations platform
New capability combines weather-aware routing, vessel-specific logic and operational constraints to support better voyage decisions London, 21 April 2026 — BigOceanData today announced the launch of Route Optimisation, a new capability within the BigOceanData platform designed to help shipowners, operators and managers make better voyage decisions by connecting route planning with live operational visibility. BuiltContinue reading “BigOceanData launches Route Optimisation as part of its connected maritime operations platform”
Insights
From Live Positions to Better Decisions: The Real Value of Vessel Tracking
Vessel tracking is often reduced to a simple visual: a ship moving across a map. That is useful, but it is not where the real value sits. In practice, the value comes from what a team can decide once that movement is visible, interpretable, and connected to the operational picture around it. In shipping, timingContinue reading “From Live Positions to Better Decisions: The Real Value of Vessel Tracking”
News
Bulgarian Shipping Company Renews Agreement
A leading Bulgarian shipping company has renewed its partnership with BigOceanData following a highly successful initial term. Operating a fleet of 36 bulk carriers worldwide, the company requires reliable vessel tracking — even in regions where AIS coverage is limited. To address this, we implemented scheduled Inmarsat-C reporting alongside AIS data, ensuring continuous and accurateContinue reading “Bulgarian Shipping Company Renews Agreement”
Trusted by leading maritime teams
One operational worspace, not disconnected tools
See ship and fleet activity in real time
Track vessel positions, movements and behaviour through a live view built on global AIS and enriched maritime data.
Monitor activity, review historical tracks, and keep teams aligned with a clear picture of fleet movements across routes, regions and ports.
Route planning based on weather and vessel performance
Compare route options using weather-aware routing and vessel performance data to support safer, more efficient passage planning.
Balance ETA, fuel use, emissions and voyage conditions with routing insight designed for day-to-day operational decisions.
Stay on top of port activity
Monitor arrivals, departures, anchorage movements and congestion across key ports and terminals.
Use live and historical port data to support scheduling, planning and a stronger understanding of port operations.
Automate monitoring for key events
Create custom zones around ports, terminals, anchorages or offshore areas and receive alerts when vessels enter, exit or change status.
Reduce manual checking and keep the right teams informed when activity requires attention.
