Voyage Radar — Free Live AIS Vessel Tracker, Voyage History Playback & Area Traffic Replay
Right now, more than 400,000 ships are moving across the world's oceans — and you can follow any one of them for free. Voyage Radar is a live AIS vessel tracker that pulls real-time position data from a global network of terrestrial and satellite receivers and plots every signal on an interactive map. You can also replay any vessel's voyage history or replay all vessel traffic in any geographic area for any date range — no account, no app, no subscription.
What You Can Do on Voyage Radar
- Live ship tracking: See real-time positions for 400,000+ AIS-equipped vessels. Moving ships update every few seconds; anchored vessels every few minutes.
- Vessel search: Look up any ship by name, MMSI number, or IMO number. Results appear instantly.
- Voyage history playback: Pick any date range and watch a vessel's recorded AIS track animate across the map. Pause, rewind, and scrub through the timeline to understand exactly where the ship traveled and when.
- Area traffic playback: Draw a bounding box on the map over any region — a port, a strait, a shipping lane, or any ocean area — choose a date range, and replay every vessel that passed through that region during that period. Ideal for analysing historical traffic density, reviewing port approaches, studying shipping patterns, or investigating maritime incidents.
- Port calls & arrivals: Check which vessels are currently in port, who arrived recently, and who is expected next. Our database covers 3,800+ ports and terminals worldwide.
- Full vessel details: Tap any ship to see its MMSI, IMO number, call sign, flag state, vessel type, gross tonnage, dimensions, current speed, heading, draft, destination, and estimated arrival time.
- Live weather overlays: Toggle GFS weather layers — wind speed, wave height, sea-surface temperature, atmospheric pressure, and animated wind and wave particle streams — directly on top of the vessel map.
- Smart filters: Narrow the map down by vessel type, navigational status, or flag country to focus on exactly what matters to you.
- Works on any device: Voyage Radar is fully responsive. It works just as well on a phone in your pocket as on a widescreen monitor.
Voyage History Playback & Area Traffic Replay
Voyage Radar offers two types of historical playback, both completely free.
Vessel Voyage History Playback
Every vessel on Voyage Radar has a recorded AIS track. To replay a voyage, click any vessel to open its detail panel, then tap the calendar icon. Select a start date and end date and press Play. The vessel's historical route will animate across the map, showing every position fix recorded during that period. You can pause, rewind, fast-forward, and scrub through the timeline. The playback panel displays the vessel's speed, course, and position at each point in time.
Voyage history playback is useful for verifying past vessel positions, understanding a ship's trading pattern, checking a vessel's route before a charter, reviewing transit times, or compiling evidence for maritime claims.
Area Vessel Traffic Replay
Voyage Radar's Area Playback feature lets you replay the complete vessel traffic in any geographic region for any time period. To use it, click the Area Playback button in the map toolbar, then draw a rectangle over the region you want to analyse. Choose a start and end date and time, then press Play. Every vessel that transited, anchored in, or operated within that area during the selected period will appear and animate across the map.
The playback controller shows the current time within the replay, how many vessels are visible at each moment, and indicates when no AIS data is available for that region and time. You can play, pause, rewind by 30 seconds, or scrub through the timeline.
Area traffic replay is particularly valuable for:
- Port operators and harbour masters reviewing approach traffic patterns
- Maritime accident investigators reconstructing vessel movements around an incident
- Shipping analysts studying traffic density through strategic chokepoints
- Environmental researchers tracking vessel activity in protected marine areas
- Naval architects and planners studying congestion in specific sea lanes
- Journalists and NGOs documenting fleet behaviour in sensitive areas
How to Track a Ship and Replay Voyage History
- Visit aisvesseltracker.com — no download or sign-up needed.
- Use the search box to enter a vessel name, MMSI, or IMO number, or simply browse the live map and click any vessel icon.
- A detail panel opens showing the ship's current position, speed, course, destination, and the weather conditions at its exact location.
- To replay voyage history: tap the calendar icon in the panel, choose a date range, and press Play. The vessel's past track will animate on the map.
- To replay area traffic: tap the Area Playback button in the toolbar, draw a box on the map over your region of interest, select a date range, and press Play.
- To add weather context, open the Layers menu and enable wind, waves, temperature, or pressure overlays.
Every Type of Vessel, in One Place
Voyage Radar tracks the full spectrum of maritime traffic: container ships, bulk carriers, oil tankers, chemical tankers, LNG and LPG carriers, general cargo vessels, Ro-Ro ships, passenger ferries, cruise liners, fishing vessels, tugboats, offshore supply vessels, platform supply vessels, anchor handlers, sailing yachts, motor yachts, high-speed craft, pilot boats, coast guard vessels, naval ships, research vessels, dredgers, and more. Browse the full vessel directory at aisvesseltracker.com/vessels.
Live Weather Overlays — Understand Sea Conditions at a Glance
Voyage Radar overlays real GFS weather data directly onto the vessel map. Toggle wind speed at 10 m, 80 m, and 100 m altitude, animated wind particle streams, significant wave height, wind sea height, wave power, animated wave particle flows, sea-surface temperature, and atmospheric pressure. Each layer comes with a colour-coded legend.
Global Coverage — Every Ocean, Every Major Shipping Lane
Voyage Radar covers the entire world. Monitor dense traffic in the English Channel, follow container ships through the Strait of Malacca, watch tankers queue at the Strait of Hormuz, or trace bulk carriers rounding the Cape of Good Hope. Major shipping lanes across the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, Pacific, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, North Sea, Baltic, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf are all covered. Strategic chokepoints — the Suez Canal, Panama Canal, Strait of Gibraltar, Bosphorus, and Lombok Strait — are visible in real time.
How AIS Vessel Tracking Works
AIS (Automatic Identification System) is a VHF radio standard mandated by the IMO for vessels over 300 gross tons on international voyages. Every AIS-equipped ship continuously broadcasts its MMSI, vessel name, position, speed, course, navigational status, destination, and draught. Voyage Radar collects these signals from a worldwide network of land-based receivers and low-Earth-orbit satellites, then aggregates and displays them on the live map with minimal delay and stores them for historical playback.
Vessel & Port Alerts — Real-Time Event Notifications
Voyage Radar lets you subscribe to real-time alerts for any vessel or port. For any of 400,000+ tracked vessels you can receive notifications for port arrivals, departures, port boundary entry and exit, ETA changes, destination changes, navigation status changes, draught changes, movement events (started moving / stopped moving), online after gap, and flag changes. Port-level alerts are available for all 3,800+ ports in our directory.
Port Directory — 3,800+ Ports Worldwide
Voyage Radar's port section at aisvesseltracker.com/ports lets you search any of 3,800+ commercial harbours, anchorages, and terminals globally. Each port page shows vessels currently at berth, those expected to arrive soon, recent departures, weather conditions, and full port details.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I track a ship in real-time?
Go to aisvesseltracker.com and type a vessel name, MMSI, or IMO number into the search box, or click any vessel icon on the live map. A detail panel opens with the vessel's current position, speed, heading, destination, flag, type, and the weather conditions where it is right now.
Can I replay a vessel's voyage history?
Yes. Click any vessel to open its panel, then tap the calendar icon and select a date range. The ship's recorded track will animate across the map with a playback controller so you can pause, rewind, and scrub through time to see exactly where it went.
Can I replay all vessel traffic in a specific area or region?
Yes. Voyage Radar's Area Playback feature lets you draw a bounding box on the map over any region and replay every vessel that moved through that area during a chosen date range. Click the Area Playback button in the toolbar, draw your region, set the date range, and press Play. The playback shows how many vessels are visible at each moment and flags when there is no AIS data for that period.
Is Voyage Radar free to use?
Yes — completely free, with no registration and no hidden fees. Real-time tracking, voyage history playback, area traffic replay, weather overlays, and port call data are all available to any visitor at no cost.
What weather layers are available?
Wind speed at 10 m, 80 m, and 100 m, animated wind particles, significant wave height, wind sea height, wave power, animated wave particles, sea-surface temperature, and atmospheric pressure. Each layer can be toggled independently from the Layers menu.
How frequently do vessel positions update?
Vessels underway typically transmit every 2 to 10 seconds. Those at anchor or moored transmit every 3 to 6 minutes. Voyage Radar shows updates as they arrive.
Does Voyage Radar work on mobile?
Yes. The site is fully responsive and works smoothly on iOS and Android browsers without any app installation. The map, playback controls, search, filters, and vessel panels are all optimised for touchscreens.
Can I search by MMSI or IMO number?
Yes. Type a 9-digit MMSI or 7-digit IMO number directly into the search box and the matching vessel will appear in the results immediately.
Does Voyage Radar support vessel alerts and notifications?
Yes. Real-time alerts for port arrival, port departure, port boundary entry and exit, ETA changes, destination changes, navigation status changes, draught changes, flag changes, movement events (started moving / stopped moving), and online after gap. Open any vessel panel and tap the alerts icon to configure notifications.
Can I get port alerts when a ship arrives at or departs from a port?
Yes. Port-level alerts are available for all 3,800+ ports in our directory. Subscribe to a port to receive notifications for vessel arrivals, departures, and boundary events. Open any port page and tap the alert icon to set up port notifications.