Tracking containers across vast oceans and bustling ports requires precision, speed, and reliable data. Automatic Identification System (AIS) data has transformed container tracking by providing real-time insights into vessel movements. 

The global automatic identification system market was valued at USD 309.66 million in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 328.24 million in 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6% during the forecast period (2025-2033). 

By capturing signals from ships via satellite and terrestrial networks, AIS enhances visibility, reduces delays, and supports visibility solutions like Vizion, helping shippers, BCOs, and intermediaries know exactly where their freight is. 

What is AIS?

AIS, or Automatic Identification System, is a tracking system used in maritime navigation to monitor and track the movement of vessels in real-time. It is an automated system that provides key information about ships, such as their position, speed, course, and other data crucial for maritime safety and efficient logistics management.

AIS works by having vessels equipped with transponders that send and receive data to nearby ships, coastal stations, and satellites. This information helps improve situational awareness for maritime authorities, vessel operators, and logistics companies, enabling better decision-making, collision avoidance, and optimized route planning.

Key Features of AIS:

1. Real-Time Tracking: AIS provides real-time vessel location and movement data.
2. Data Exchange: Ships exchange essential information such as identification, position, course, speed, and destination.
3. Safety and Navigation: AIS helps prevent collisions and aids in safer navigation by providing visibility of nearby vessels.
4. Global or Coastal Coverage: It can work through satellite networks (international) or ground-based stations (terrestrial), ensuring coverage over open seas and coastal areas.

Types of AIS:

• Satellite AIS: Tracks vessels globally, even in remote and open ocean areas.
• Terrestrial AIS: Operates through land-based receivers, offering more frequent updates when vessels are near coastal or port areas.

With Vizion, you can track all vessels globally, using data from both terrestrial and satellite AIS to monitor container ships around the world.

Functionality of AIS: Satellite & Terrestrial AIS 

AIS transmits data such as the ship’s location, speed, and course to nearby vessels, port authorities, and satellite systems. The data is collected through two primary types of AIS: Satellite AIS and Terrestrial AIS:

1. Satellite AIS Functionality

Satellite AIS uses a network of satellites orbiting the Earth to receive AIS data from ships. This method provides global coverage, allowing for vessel tracking even in remote and open-sea areas where terrestrial systems are ineffective.

Key Features:

• Global Coverage: Satellite AIS can track vessels anywhere in the world, even in the middle of oceans, where traditional terrestrial systems would fail to reach.
• Real-time Data: Ships transmit their positions, course, and speed, and this data is captured by satellites, allowing for real-time tracking of vessels.
• Extended Range: Unlike terrestrial systems, satellite AIS can cover vast expanses of water, ensuring no vessel is left untracked, regardless of its location.
• Automatic Transmission: Vessels automatically transmit their data, allowing authorities and logistics teams to receive continuous updates without manual input.

With Vizion supporting this system, organizations can receive AIS data seamlessly, integrating real-time vessel position data into their operations. This allows for enhanced tracking of containers, better ETA predictions, and proactive issue management.

2. Terrestrial AIS Functionality

Terrestrial AIS works through ground-based stations that pick up signals from vessels within a certain range, typically near coastal areas and ports. While this system offers more frequent updates due to its proximity, it’s limited to regions closer to land.

Key Features:

• High Frequency Updates: Terrestrial AIS offers more frequent data updates, particularly valuable when vessels are approaching or near port areas.
• Enhanced Accuracy: The proximity of terrestrial stations means that the data provided is often more precise, helping authorities and logistics managers track vessels with high accuracy.
• Port & Coastal Coverage: Terrestrial AIS excels in tracking vessels in port areas or along coastlines, providing detailed insights into arrivals, departures, and docking.

Common Challenges in Freight Forwarding & Logistics Using AIS (with Solutions)

As a freight forwarder, supply chain manager, or logistics coordinator, tracking the exact position of your containers and vessels in real-time is crucial for enhancing operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. This is where AIS data, particularly satellite and terrestrial AIS, comes into play.

• Real-Time Vessel Tracking

As a freight forwarder, you want to track vessels carrying your clients' containers in real-time to predict arrival times more accurately and inform your clients of any potential delays.

Solution: By integrating AIS data into your tracking systems, you can access up-to-the-minute vessel positions, whether the ship is out at sea, approaching a port, or in the middle of a transit leg. Satellite AIS ensures that even vessels traveling in remote locations are tracked, giving you precise updates. 

This means you can provide more reliable estimates on when a shipment will arrive, enhancing client satisfaction.

• Comprehensive Logistics Overview

As a supply chain manager, you need a comprehensive overview of your end-to-end logistics processes to identify inefficiencies and optimize operations.

Solution: Combining AIS vessel positions with steamship line event data offers greater completeness and granular details about a container’s journey. This includes information about intermediate stops at ports and information that would often go unreported by the carrier. 

With AIS data, you gain a full picture of the vessel’s movement, including stops, route deviations, and arrival times. Vizion’s AIS data supports satellite and terrestrial sources, providing seamless integration into your logistics platform for comprehensive oversight.

• Proactive Issue Resolution

As a logistics coordinator, you want to receive alerts and notifications about potential issues like deviations from planned routes to address them proactively and minimize disruptions.

Solution: With AIS data integrated into your logistics system, you can receive frequent updates about a vessel’s position, speed, and route. If a vessel deviates from its planned course or faces delays, the system can send real-time notifications and alerts. 

The better your data quality, especially from AIS, the better it will help you understand your containers' status and give you precise location information. This allows your team to take immediate action and address potential delays before they become significant disruptions. 

The combination of satellite and terrestrial AIS, supported by Vizion, ensures that the data is comprehensive and timely, helping you avoid any issues that could impact the delivery timeline.

Conclusion

AIS data has emerged as a game-changer for businesses looking to optimize their container-tracking processes. By utilizing satellite and terrestrial AIS, logistics professionals can track vessels with unprecedented accuracy and in real-time, ensuring end-to-end visibility across the entire container journey.

When integrated into a comprehensive logistics system, AIS data, supported by Vizion, opens powerful insights for smarter decision-making. Tracking vessels in real-time allows for better ETA predictions, more proactive responses to potential disruptions, and greater operational efficiency. 

Book a demo at Vizion to access: 

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• Real-Time Container Tracking: Gain access to the most complete, standardized, and detailed container tracking events via API or user interface with real-time container tracking data.
• Logistics Performance Hub: Access a comprehensive suite of global logistics datasets, including Port Performance, Port Activity, and Port Pairs, to analyze shipping trends, port throughput, container dwell times, and real-time port activity, enabling smarter decision-making about containerized freight movements.
• TradeView: Monitor the live flow of any company's shipments 30 to 90 days before arrival to destination and analyze trends across 10 years of historical supplier, product, and logistics movement data. With 900 million shipment records, 140+ attributes per shipment, coverage spanning 190 countries, and comprehensive HS code data, TradeView empowers data-driven decisions that optimize global trade management.