MarineTraffic

Tool Description: A vessel-tracking platform that lets you follow ships, tankers, cargo vessels, ferries, yachts, and ports in near real time.

MarineTraffic

Quick Overview

URL

https://www.marinetraffic.com/

What it does

Tracks ships and maritime activity worldwide using AIS signals collected from satellites, shore stations, and partner networks.

How to use it

Use the search field to search for a specific vessel, port, area etc, or explore live vessel movements on the map.

Cost

Free for basic use. Paid for advanced use.

Account required

No for basic searches. Yes for advanced tracking and alerts.

A mixture of consent, analytics, security, and session-management cookies.

Ownership

Owned by Kpler, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

Use in Reporting

It’s ideal for reconstructing timelines, tracking sanctions-related activity, or identifying suspicious vessel behaviour.

What does MarineTraffic do?

MarineTraffic transforms complex global shipping activity into an accessible visual intelligence tool that supports investigations, journalism, research, and risk analysis.

The lowdown: Used carefully, it can reveal stories hiding in plain sight on the world’s oceans.

How to Use:

1. Search for a Vessel either using the search bar to enter a vessel name, IMO or MMSI number, or the live marine tracking data on the map.

2. Open the vessel profile to view info such as current position, flag state, vessel type, destination, speed and heading.

3. Explore movement history and cross-reference findings.

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Free users get basic live tracking and vessel information. Advanced historical data, satellite AIS coverage, route playback, and analytics require a paid subscription.

Data Processing

Account Required:

An account is optional for basic searches but required for saved alerts, advanced tracking features, and deeper analytics.

Cookies:

MarineTraffic uses a mixture of consent, analytics, security, and session-management cookies to support website functionality and user tracking. These include cookies for GDPR/CCPA compliance, Cloudflare bot protection, and analytics platforms such as HubSpot and Mixpanel.

Use in Reporting

MarineTraffic is useful for:

Tracking sanctioned vessels, oil tankers, and suspected sanctions evasion routes.
Investigating ship-to-ship transfers and suspicious offshore activity.
Verifying whether vessels visited disputed, restricted, or sanctioned ports.
Reconstructing timelines following maritime accidents or incidents.
Monitoring supply chains, cargo movement, and global trade disruption.
Supporting environmental, conflict, migration, and illegal fishing investigations.

As a real-world example, Reuters used Marine Traffic to track the movements of suspected Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tankers linked to sanctions evasion. Reuters also referenced Marine Traffic data when reporting on the sanctioned LNG tanker Arctic Metogaz catching fire in the Mediterranean.

Capabilities

Limitations

Live global vessel tracking using AIS data.

AIS signals can be spoofed, disabled, or falsified.

Historical route playback and timeline reconstruction.

Coverage gaps in remote or low-signal areas.

Port arrival, departure, and anchorage monitoring.

Advanced features locked behind paid subscriptions.

Vessel profiling with IMO, MMSI, flag, and ownership data.

Smaller, military, or illicit vessels may not appear.

Detection of suspicious maritime behaviour and sanctions evasion patterns.

Data requires external verification and corroboration.

Summary

MarineTraffic fits into multiple stages of the OSINT workflow, from discovery and verification to timeline reconstruction and visual reporting. It’s especially valuable for tracking vessel movements, identifying suspicious maritime behaviour, and corroborating findings with other sources such as satellite imagery, sanctions databases, and corporate records.

Ownership

MarineTraffic is owned by Brussels-based Kpler (which acquired the platform in 2023). It is primarily owned by its founders, François Cazor and Jean Maynier, with minority investments from private equity firms Five Arrows and Insight Partners.