Ship AIS

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[Joshua Williams]

I wanted to post this in multiplayer, but I didn't want to step on any toes with my first post on this forum.

Anyways, one day when I was reading about Maersk vessels, I came across something called AIS, and I was stunned.

AIS is short for Automatic Identification System. It is a short range, coastal vessel tracking service used on ships and by Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) for identifying and locating vessels by electronically exchanging data with other nearby ships and VTS stations. Information such as unique identification, position, course, and speed can be displayed on a screen or an ECDIS.

Sounds complicated, right? Well, I found that this information is readily available, and best of all it is free!
You can go over major ports such as Sydney, Rotterdam, New York, etc. You can even follow specific vessels, like the Fairmont Sherpa, RPA-12 or your favourite fleet over all(I follow over 35 Maersk vessels).
I use it all the time when I'm playing multiplayer...haha.

The system uses google maps...and it is very accurate! They include lovely pictures of various vessels, too. Wallpaper!

Be advised-not all ships are equipped with AIS equipment, so you may not be able to find a ship that you're looking for.
http://marinetraffic.com/ais/

Enjoy, ladies and gentlemen. I hope to see you guys on Multiplayer someday.

[Aad The Pirate]

Ahoy Joshua Williams, and a very Welcome to this Forum.
Thank You for sharing this link with the community. I'll have a look at it a.s.a.p. and will come back to You to tell You what I think about it.
Best Regards
Aad the (one and only) Pirate

[Ballast]

It's indeed a great site. Friends and family use it to see where i am, when im at sea.

AIS is mandatory for all seagoing vessels over 500 gross tonnage. Fishing vessels and leisure crafts have exemption for AIS. Too bad you only see vessels that are within range of the shore based station which passes it on the the marinetraffic website.

[Aad The Pirate]

Ahoy Joshua Williams,
as Ballast said, indeed a great site. I'll keep using it just for fun.
Tnx again for sharing it.
Aad

[laganviking]

There is an even better ship ais site which is mainly UK but has North Sea ports too.

www.shipais.com - an excellent site 

[TerryRussell]

Some pleasure craft use it, even though they are exempt (see Ballast's comments above). So do many search and rescue vessels. I have it on one of my "boats", because we sometimes get involved in things for Trinity House (the Admiralty in the UK).

My wife can then see where I am. "All at sea", she says.  

It is a really good improvement over earlier days. The satellite linked version will be even better.

[Joshua Williams]

I'm glad you guys already have knowledge of it/can use it. I think it is amazing that technology has come to this these days.

Oh well, enjoy

[Ballast]

After www.aislive.com (the first AIS website) become a paid site a few years ago, shipplotter was one of the first alternatives. Shipplotter gave the possibility to connect a VHF scanner to your computer to receive the signal, and showed the position on a chart. You could also upload the data to other shipplotter users. Shipplotter was mostly used by ship spotters, and this way they could make they own system. The area that shipplotter covered grew very quickly!

After sites like marinetraffic.com showed up, people started to use that sites more often that shipplotter. Shippplotter is still used on board fishing vessels to monitor nearby traffic without giving their own position. Shipplotter cost around €25, the price of an orginal AIS receiver is about 10 times that much.

[Aad The Pirate]

There is an even better ship ais site which is mainly UK but has North Sea ports too.

www.shipais.com - an excellent site 

Better  How do You mean  I miss the pan and zoom option. Those options aren't available at your "better" site. It is not for no reason that your site refers to that option and provides a link to marinetraffic.com

[--tractorman--]

A site I aways use, it is really good..

Another similar site is www.shipais.com

[Aad The Pirate]

A site I aways use, it is really good..

Another similar site is www.shipais.com

http://80.95.161.114/shipsim/forum/index.php?topic=17098.msg228631#msg228631

[thaino]

on the vessel my dad works on is 60 metres long and they have an  ais system

[Stuart2007]

Some pleasure craft use it, even though they are exempt (see Ballast's comments above). So do many search and rescue vessels. I have it on one of my "boats", because we sometimes get involved in things for Trinity House (the Admiralty in the UK).

This question came up in a pub quiz evening I went to a few months back. My team agreed with you but I said it was totally independent of the Coastguard and Royal Navy and was established by Royal Charter in the 1600s.

Our team lost- although I was right. So to save the embaressment at the next quiz night, has the RN now taken over the management of the light house system?

[TerryRussell]

This question came up in a pub quiz evening I went to a few months back. My team agreed with you but I said it was totally independent of the Coastguard and Royal Navy and was established by Royal Charter in the 1600s.

Our team lost- although I was right. So to save the embaressment at the next quiz night, has the RN now taken over the management of the light house system?

Lighthouses are strictly Trinity House, as they have been for many, many years. See their web site for deails.

But please note that I didn't say that the S&R stuff we do is part of any work for Trinity House.

[Stuart2007]

Lighthouses are strictly Trinity House, as they have been for many, many years. See their web site for deails.

But please note that I didn't say that the S&R stuff we do is part of any work for Trinity House.

No. As you well know, S&R (as any civilian vessel is obliged to participate wherever possible on receipt of a distress call) is strictly the responsibility of HM Coastguard (with units seconded from the Royal Navy quite frequently) with assistance from non-Governmental organisations such as the RNLI.

But the Admiralty, or the "Office of the Lord High Admiral of England"*  is nothing to do with Trinity House, as indicated in your first post.

THIS is the question that was in the quiz and my team answered the same as you (I was outvoted 3-2) and the team was wrong (though I did enjoy saying "told you" after! ))





*[Wales is a region in law at the formation and Scotland was a seperate Sovereign state]

[TerryRussell]

Ah, I see what you mean. No Trinity House is not strictly part of teh Admiralty. However, there is a considerable cros-over of staff and responsibilities. Some of teh people I deal with wear both hats, often at the same time.

They look really stupid when they do that.

Some of my Ancestors held the position of High Admiral... And/or the equivalent.

List of Trinity House lighthouses is here: http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/interactive/gallery/pendeen.html

[Stuart2007]

Ah, I see what you mean. No Trinity House is not strictly part of teh Admiralty. However, there is a considerable cros-over of staff and responsibilities. Some of teh people I deal with wear both hats, often at the same time.

They look really stupid when they do that.

Some of my Ancestors held the position of High Admiral... And/or the equivalent.

List of Trinity House lighthouses is here: http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/interactive/gallery/pendeen.html

wow! is there any pie you don't have a finger in? (LEAVE my trifle alone- I'm having it for dinner and I don't want your mits in it!)

[TerryRussell]

It tastes good, though...

You'll see from this list that the first First Lord of the Admiralty was my Great^x Grandfather. He came back for a second go four years after he qut the position. The second High Sea Lord was also an ancestor

Lord High Admirals, 1413-1628
Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter 1413 - 1426
John, Duke of Bedford 1426 - 1435
John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter 1435 - 1447
William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk 1447 - 1450
Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter 1450 - 1461
William Neville, 1st Earl of Kent 1462
Richard, Duke of Gloucester 1462 - 1470
Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick 1470 - 1471
Richard, Duke of Gloucester 1471 - 1483
John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk 1483 - 1485
John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford 1485 - 1513
Sir Edward Howard 1513 son of the 2nd Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey 1513 - 1525
Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond 1525 - 1536
William Fitzwilliam, 1st Earl of Southampton 1536 - 1540
John Russell, 1st Lord Russell 1540 - 1542
Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford 1542 - 1543
John Dudley, Viscount Lisle 1543 - 1547
Thomas Seymour, 1st Lord Seymour of Sudeley 1547 - 1549
John Dudley, 1st Earl of Warwick 1549 - 1550
Edward Clinton, 9th Lord Clinton 1550 - 1554
William Howard, 1st Lord Howard of Effingham 1554 - 1558
Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln 1558 - 1585
Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham (1597) 1585 - 1619
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham 1619 - 1628

Lords High Admiral and First Lords of the Admiralty, 1628-1709
Richard Weston, 1st Earl of Portland (First Lord of the Admiralty) 1628 - 1635
Robert Bertie, 1st Earl of Lindsey(First Lord of the Admiralty) 1635 - 1636
William Juxon, Bishop of Lincoln (First Lord of the Admiralty) 1636 - 1638
Algernon Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland (Lord High Admiral to 1642, then First Lord of the Admiralty) 1638 - 1643
Francis Cottington, 1st Lord Cottington 1643 - 1646
none 1646-1660
James Stuart, Duke of York and Albany (Lord High Admiral) 1660 - 1673
King Charles II (Lord High Admiral) 1673
Prince Rupert of the Palatinate, 1st Duke of Cumberland (Lord High Admiral) 1673 - 1679
Sir Henry Capell (First Lord of the Admiralty) 1679 - 1681
Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham (First Lord of the Admiralty) 1681 - 1684
King Charles II (Lord High Admiral) 1684 - 1685
King James II (Lord High Admiral) 1685 - 1688
King William III (Lord High Admiral) 1689
Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington (Lord High Admiral to 1689, then First Lord of the Admiralty) 1689 - 1690
Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke (First Lord of the Admiralty) 1690 - 1692
Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Lord Cornwallis of Eye (First Lord of the Admiralty) 1692 - 1693
Anthony Carey, 5th Viscount of Falkland (First Lord of the Admiralty) 1693 - 1694
Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford (First Lord of the Admiralty) 1694 - 1699
John Egerton, 3rd Earl of Bridgwater (First Lord of the Admiralty) 1699 - 1701
Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke(Lord High Admiral) 1701 - 1702
Prince George of Denmark (Lord High Admiral) 1702 - 1708
Queen Anne (Lord High Admiral) 1708
Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke (Lord High Admiral) 1708 - 1709

First Lords of the Admiralty, 1709-1964
Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford 1709 - 1710
Sir John Leake 1710 - 1712
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford 1712 - 1714
Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford 1714 - 1717
James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley 1717 - 1727
George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington 1727 - 1733
Sir Charles Wager 1733 - 1742
Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea 1742 - 1744
John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford 1744 - 1748
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich 1748 - 1751
George Anson, 1st Baron Anson 1751 - 1756
Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple 1756 - 1757
Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea 1757
George Anson, 1st Baron Anson 1757 - 1762
George Montague-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax 1762
George Grenville 1762-1763
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich 1763
John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont 1763 - 1766
Sir Charles Saunders 1766
Sir Edward Hawke 1766 - 1771
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich 1771 - 1782
Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel 1782 - 1783
Richard Howe, 4th Viscount Howe 1783
Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel 1783
Richard Howe, 4th Viscount Howe 1783 - 1788
John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham 1788 - 1794
George John Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer 1794 - 1801
John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent 1801 - 1804
Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville 1804 - 1805
Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham 1805 - 1806
Charles Grey, Viscount Howick 1806
Thomas Grenville 1806 - 1807
Henry Phipps, 3rd Baron Mulgrave 1807 - 1810
Charles Philip Yorke 1810 - 1812
Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville 1812 - 1827
HRH The Duke of Clarence (Lord High Admiral) 1827 - 1828
Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville 1828 - 1830
Sir James Graham 1830 - 1834
George Eden, 2nd Baron Auckland 1834
Thomas Robinson, 2nd Earl de Grey 1834 - 1835
George Eden, 2nd Baron Auckland 1835
Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 2nd Earl of Minto 1835 - 1841
Thomas Hamilton, 9th Earl of Haddington 1841 - 1846
Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough 1846
George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland 1846 - 1849
Sir Francis Thornhill Baring 1849 - 1852
Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland 1852
Sir James Graham 1852 - 1855
Sir Charles Wood 1855 - 1858
Sir John Pakington 1858 - 1859
Edward Adolphus Seymour, 12th Duke of Somerset 1859 - 1866
Sir John Pakington 1866 - 1867
Henry Thomas Lowry Corry 1867 - 1868
Hugh Childers 1868 - 1871
George Joachim Goschen 1871 - 1874
George Ward Hunt 1874 - 1877
William Henry Smith 1877 - 1880
Thomas George Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook 1880 - 1885
Lord George Hamilton 1885 - 1886
George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon 1886
Lord George Hamilton 1886 - 1892
John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer 1892 - 1895
George Joachim Goschen 1895 - 1900
William Waldegrave Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne 1900 - 1905
Frederick Archibald Vaughan Campbell, 3rd Earl Cawdor 1905
Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth 1905 - 1908
Reginald McKenna 1908 - 1911
Winston Churchill 1911 - 1915
Arthur Balfour 1915 - 1916
Sir Edward Carson 1916 - 1917
Sir Eric Geddes 1917 - 1919
Walter Hume Long 1919 - 1921
Arthur Hamilton Lee, 1st Baron Lee of Fareham 1921 - 1922
Leo Amery 1922 - 1924
Frederic John Napier Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford 1924
William Clive Bridgeman 1924 - 1929
A. V. Alexander 1929 - 1931
Sir Austen Chamberlain 1931
Sir Bolton Eyres-Monsell (Viscount Monsell from 1935) 1931 - 1936
Sir Samuel Hoare 1936 - 1937
Alfred Duff Cooper 1937 - 1938
James Stanhope, 7th Earl Stanhope 1938 - 1939
Winston Churchill 1939 - 1940
A. V. Alexander 1940 - 1945
Brendan Bracken 1945
A. V. Alexander 1945 - 1946
George Hall, 1st Viscount Hall 1946 - 1951
Francis Aungier Pakenham, 1st Baron Pakenham 1951
James Thomas, 1st Viscount Cilcennan (1955) 1951 - 1956
Quintin McGarel Hogg, 2nd Viscount Hailsham 1956 - 1957
George Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk 1957 - 1959
Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, 1959-1963
George Jellicoe, 2nd Earl Jellicoe 1963-1964

Admirals of the Fleet, 1795-1827
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe 1795-1799
Sir Peter Parker 1799-1811
Prince William, Duke of Clarence 1811-1827

First Sea Lords, 1828-Present
Sir George Cockburn 1828-1830
Sir Thomas Hardy 1830-1834
The Hon. George Heneage Dundas 1834
Sir Charles Adam 1834
Sir George Cockburn 1834-1835
Sir Charles Adams 1835-1841
Sir George Cockburn 1841-1846
Sir William Parker 1846
Sir Charles Adams 1846-1847
Sir James Dundas 1847-1852
The Hon. Maurice Fitzhardinge Berkeley 1852
Hyde Parker 1852-1854
The Hon. Maurice Fitzhardinge Berkeley 1854-1857
Sir Richard Dundas 1857-1858
William Martin 1858-1859
Sir Richard Dundas 1859-1861
Sir Frederick Grey 1861-1866
Sir Alexander Milne 1866-1868
Sir Sydney Dacres 1868-1872
Sir Alexander Milne 1872-1876
Sir Hastings Yelverston 1876-1877
Sir George Wellesley 1877-1879
Sir Astley Cooper Key 1879-1885
Sir Arthur Hood 1885-1886
Lord John Hay 1886
Sir Arthur Hood 1886-1889
Sir Vesey Hamilton 1889-1891
Sir Anthony Hoskins 1891-1893
Sir Frederick Richards 1893-1899
Lord Walter Kerr 1899-1904
Sir John Fisher 1904-1910
Sir Arthur Wilson 1910-1911
Sir Francis Bridgeman 1911-1912
Prince Louis of Battenberg 1912-1914
John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher 1914-1915
Sir Henry Jackson 1915-1916
Sir John Jellicoe 1916-1917
Sir Rosslyn Wemyss 1917-1919
David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty 1919-1927
Sir Charles Madden 1927-1930
Sir Frederick Field 1930-1933
Ernle Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield 1933-1938
Sir Roger Backhouse 1938-1939
Sir Dudley Pound 1939-1943
Andrew Cunningham, 1st Baron Cunningham of Hyndhope 1943-1946
Sir John Cunningham 1946-1948
Sir Bruce Fraser 1948-1951
Sir Rhoderick McGrigor 1951-1955
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma 1955-1959
Sir Charles Lambe 1959-1960
Sir Caspar John 1960-1963
Sir David Luce 1963-1966
Sir Varyl Begg 1966-1968
Sir Michael Lefanu 1968-1970
Sir Peter Hill-Norton 1970-1971
Sir Michael Pollock 1971-1974
Sir Edward Ashmore 1974-1977
Sir Terence Lewin 1977-1979
Sir Henry Leach 1979-1982
Sir John Fieldhouse 1982-1985
Sir William Staveley 1985-1989
Sir Julian Oswald 1989-1993
Sir Benjamin Bathurst 1993-1995
Sir Jock Slater 1995-1998
Sir Michael Boyce 1998-2001
Sir Nigel Essenhigh 2001-2002
Sir Alan West 2002-present

[Stuart2007]

Did I tell you I studied history at college and then university (principally as a 'arty farty' way to balance the objective, rational subjects of business management and physics?) Oh I did? Bet I didn't tell you that I studied HM Royal Navy and its role in [forming and] retaining the empire.

The problem was, and I appreciate this is OT, that I found I really liked the subject and was always planning to study it further (as you no doubt realise, having a title is quite a useful tool!).

So, Dr T... Finding someone who is so versed in the formative years of the Royal Navy is like an Irish navvie striking gold in W America... I know you are busy, but there are some burning questions I need to find the answer to for my course... Any chance of picking your brains, please? (by PM)

[Stuart2007]

Incidentally, did you realise your great grandfather died without having any children...

[TerryRussell]

Incidentally, did you realise your great grandfather died without having any children...

Yes.

Bear in mind that those toffs interbred quite a lot. I am in fact, my own Grandmother.


Or something...

[saltydog]

I just coincidentally stumbled upon this ship tracker..

http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/shiplocations.phtml

[MokMok]

It would be very nice that the realtime AIS ships positions would be transferred to the Multiplayer servers! In the Multiplayer Mode the real ships are visible realtime and are substituted by the ships of Shipsim. Sailing and navigating would be very real.

[--tractorman--]

But that would include making.. every ship in the world? Unless you used the same few ships over and over again, but that would be weird having some stuff in places, like it wouldnt fit, and they could also get in the way, if a vessel was docked where you wanted to be

[McGherkin]

make them all jetskis! Or Freedom 90's