2.4 Ships

2.4.1 Ships visualization

The ships visualization includes the components shown on Fig.9:

Vessel tracking ships visualization
Fig.9 Components of the ships visualization

Position – the exact position of the AIS transponder fixed by the small colored icon (triangle, square or circle)
Ship type – the color of the icon indicates the type of the ship
Silhouette – the silhouette of the ship is drawn in real scale
Velocity vector – the vector is directed according to the ship’s course and its length is equal to the speed of the ship multiplied by the “Velocity vector” from “Visualization Settings” configuration
Name – Name of the ship (if the layer “Ship details / Name” is activated or the ship is selected)
Flag – Flag of the ship (if the layer “Ship details / Flag” is activated or the ship is selected)
Details – course, destination and speed

The correspondence between the ship type and the color of the position square is:

Cargo ship Hazardous cargo Fishing Unknown
Tanker Passenger ship WiG / HSC Other type / auxiliary

2.4.2 AIS information

Left click on a ship selects it. The name, flag and details of the selected ship are displayed regardless of the status of the layers “Captions” and “Flags”. The name of the selected ship is highlighted in yellow (Fig.10)
Right click on a ship selects it and displays context menu with shortcuts to “Info” and “Track” functions for the selected ship (see chapters 2.4.3 and 2.4.4).

Vessel tracking software ship details Vessel tracking software ship details

Fig.10 Ship selection and context menu

AIS information related to the selected ship is displayed in the information panel, “Ship Info” tab. (Fig.11)

Vessel tracking system AIS information panel
Fig.11 AIS information panel

The information fields in the panel are:
Name of the ship – displayed in the upper part of the panel (bold font)
Flag and flag state – displayed under the name of the ship
Type – type of the ship (according to AIS specification)
Dest – port of destination
ETA – estimated time of arrival
MMSI – international MMSI number
IMO – IMO number
CallSign – international callsign
Size – sizes of the ship (length х beam) in meters
Draught – ship’s draught in meters
NavStat – navigational status
Photo – ship’s photo (if available)
LAT, LON – latitude longitude
COG – course over ground (degrees)
SOG – speed over ground (knots)
ROT – rate of turn (degrees / minute)
HDG – heading (degrees)
BRG / RNG – bearing and range related to the selected reference point
TIMESTAMP – time of the last position update
vessel tracking softwareThe accuracy of the information depends on the data entered in the ship’s AIS transponder and to the quality of operation of the ship’s GPS receiver!

2.4.3 Additional information
VT Explorer database contains additional ship information which is not included in standard AIS data format. This information can be displayed by pressing the “Info” button (Fig.12) or by right click onto the ship and selection of “Info” in the context menu.
vessel tracking softwareIf the IMO number of the selected ship is not valid the “Info” button and context menu option are disabled.

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Fig.12 Additional ship information

2.4.4 Movement history

The movement history (track) of the selected ship can be displayed by pressing the “Track” button or by right click onto the ship and selection of “Track” in the context menu. The drawn blue line will be erased when other ship is selected. If the MMSI number of the selected ship is not valid the “Track” button is disabled.

Vessel tracking software movement history
Fig.13 Movement history

Small blue arrow markers display the sequential positions of the ship. Additional information about the specific position (Time, Course and Speed) can be acquired by clicking on the dot marker.