Insights
October 19, 2026
AIS is the foundation of modern vessel tracking, and it is widely misunderstood. What it was designed for, how terrestrial and satellite reception differ, and the limitations worth knowing before you rely on it.
Insights
September 30, 2026
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”
News
August 26, 2026
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
August 12, 2026
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
August 3, 2026
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
July 22, 2026
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”
Which vessel tracking platform is right for your team? MarineTraffic, VesselFinder, or BigOceanData? Insights
July 9, 2026
“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
April 21, 2026
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
April 11, 2026
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”
