How busy are the European waterways? Thanks to the Automatic Identification System (AIS), many ships know where they sail and how busy certain places are. Use the map below to find out how busy the regions are.

 

Open the Water Map in a full window

 

NOTE: It is important to understand that Network AIS, as shown here, is not 100% real-time. The data must be collected, processed, and displayed, and may therefore reflect the situation of several minutes ago. This data should only be used for informational purposes; for navigation, you must rely on your own on-board AIS transponder. Only that allows you to see real-time vessel movements in your immediate vicinity. In our app Water Map Live, you can connect your own AIS transponder or multiplexer to view live data directly in the app.

 

 

 

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Do you have an AIS receiver on board? You can easily connect it to our Water Map Live app to always view the live positions of vessels around you. Download the app now (try it free for 4 days, then only ten euros a year):

 

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The Automatic Identification System (AIS) was invented to increase safety on the water.

It works with a transponder mounted on board a ship and broadcasts the basic data of a ship. You can then think of the name, size, ship type and destination. But also things like sailing speed, course and especially the position. This makes it an supplement to the radar that many ships have on board. Because AIS is hardly hindered by tall buildings, trees and bridges. Thanks to the course and position data, it is immediately clear where a ship is sailing.

In 2003, the system was therefore introduced worldwide and made mandatory in the Netherlands for all commercial shipping. But because AIS requires a relatively simple transponder costing a few hundred euros and which can easily be connected to the antennas that many boats already have on board, the system is becoming increasingly popular among water sports enthusiasts. There are already around fourteen thousand ships sailing around the Netherlands with an AIS transponder on board.

Thanks to apps such as Marinetraffic or Waterkaart Live you can see the AIS positions of all those ships on your mobile phone. The data in those apps comes from the owners of so-called terrestrial AIS stations: equipped with only an AIS receiver - so no transponder - and an internet connection.

 

Are you a skipper and would you rather not be mentioned on the map? Let us know and we will take care of that.