Navigation in itself is a multi-century old phenomenon, which has been there since mankind discovered what they could do with a piece of wood. However, modern ship navigation has experienced a lot of changes, and subsequent ‘rebirths’, over the last couple of decades.

One such year of rebirth was 1952: For the very first time, vessel routing services got introduced into the industry. 1952 is when vessels were retrofitted with a prototype that would later evolve into the Automatic Identification System (AIS) in the late 90s, something that ushered a new era in maritime navigation so to speak.

AIS data, when clubbed together, gives us all-around insights into the vessel involved, its speed, position, ship dimensions, as well as its draft, helping us identify when the ship was loaded or unloaded with its designated cargo. However, the last point is an application of various data points obtained via AIS, and not available via raw data obtained from the systems onboard.

AIS, as stated above, was originally meant for ensuring navigational safety, but has quickly proved to be a vital source of business intelligence for maritime personnel.

We support students and researchers by offering access to the FleetMon API Suite and our extensive AIS Data Archive with historical vessel position and port call data. Read this guest article we received by Niklas Scherer, a master’s degree student of the University of Applied Sciences in Bingen, Germany.

The academic project investigates a correlation between specific weather conditions a vessel was exposed to and occurring cargo damage. AIS data and weather data were used to examine if certain weather conditions on maritime high-traffic lanes are likely to cause damage to freight in order to prevent damage by realistic forecasting.

Only 66 days until the largest annual meeting of traditional sailors and museum ships in the world takes place in FleetMon’s hometown Rostock – the Hanse Sail 2021. Each year at the beginning of August, over a million visitors come to the event to enjoy the maritime flair or take part in sailing trips. Up to 200 participating ships, together with cruise liners, ferries and ships of the Navy, shape the unmistakable events in Rostock and Warnemünde. Unfortunately, in 2020, the large maritime event was canceled due to the pandemic.

On the occasion of the Hanse Sail 2021 beginning in less than three months, we present a selection of the best sailing vessel photos in our monthly Maritime Gallery. Have fun and enjoy great vessel photography!

Kiel, May 6th, 2021: On Thursday, the Institute for the World Economy presented a new, AI-based leading indicator for international trade based on real-time data from global container shipping. On the basis of up to 250,000 continuously collected data points from up to 200,000 position data and up to 50,000 additional data on inlets and outlets, supplied by FleetMon, the Kiel scientists offer continuous monitoring of imports and exports of the largest economies China, Europe, and the USA.

The accident of the large container freighter “Ever Given” (IMO 9811000) on March 23, 2021 in the Suez Canal will keep the global shipping industry busy for years to come. Many questions remain unanswered: Could an accident like this have happened in northern Germany, for example on the Elbe at the gates of the port of Hamburg? Or: What should be done to quickly remove a blockage? Hans von Wecheln, maritime consultant from Husum, shared his ideas with THB (Täglicher Hafenbericht) and FleetMon. We publish the letter with the kind approval of the THB chief editor.

Each month, we communicate our new terrestrial AIS stations to you. Become an AIS Partner and contribute to Global Maritime Transparency. Please have a look at our extended AIS coverage woldwide.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unparalleled impact on global mobility – on land, at sea and in the air. The severe restrictions on human movements, changes in consumption and the economic impact of lockdowns and reduced demand due to increased unemployment or short-time working hit the global economy hard, though with greatly differing impacts on national economies. So how has the pandemic affected maritime logistics?

In 2021, the maritime logistics industry can scarcely afford to ignore its environmental impact. The transportation industry is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, so it’s no surprise that sustainability has become a key trend in logistics. Fortunately, the future looks bright with innovative solutions and emerging technologies that promise to lessen the ecological footprint and boost performance. Here’s a closer look at some things to keep a look out for, going forward.

The 11th international conference for maritime logistics (mariLOG) took place on May 4th, 2021 – as part of the online event of transport logistic 2021. Transport logistic is regarded as the leading trade fair for logistics, mobility, IT and supply management. In 2019, 2374 exhibitors and around 64,000 visitors from 125 countries gathered at the on-site event. This year, the fair is held as a purely digital event.

The mariLOG conference took place as a panel discussion between high-ranking market participants on the following topic: How can we fix what Corona has done to the relationship between carriers and their customers.

The corona pandemic is putting a strain on the relationship between carriers and their customers. The latter have complained that shipowners have used their market power inappropriately to drive up freight rates. In addition, there is a lack in contractual loyalty and service quality. The shipowners, in turn, point to the collapse in demand in the wake of the pandemic and to capacity increases on the main trade routes. What needs to be done to improve the relationship between the parties?

In 2021, we started to put the spotlight on our passionate ship spotters. Each month, we introduce another ship spotter of FleetMon.com. In Mai, you’ll meet ship spotter Max (User name: dragonflyer11), a nautical student from Germany.

What is your maritime background?

I am 21 years old. I come from Frankfurt/Main – Germany. I have always been interested in vehicles but later ships caught all of my attention. I‘ve been onboard several inland vessels and ferries which helped me establish more and more contacts over the time. Then I worked for a year as a skipper on small sailing cutters for tourist group trips on Lake Constance in Southern Germany. At the moment, I study navigation and maritime transport in Elsfleth which is between Bremen and Bremerhaven in Northern Germany. In 2020, I went to sea for half a year on a coaster where I found many great spotting motives! My aim is to become a captain once.