NEWS – ABPmer adds 2017 marine vessel dataset to AIS portal
ABPmer’s GIS and Data Solutions team has today added the 2017 national dataset of marine vessel traffic for the UK to their online Maritime AIS data portal. This means users can now view and compare 2015, 2016 and 2017 vessel transits.
Vessel transits can be examined to identify traffic of a certain type, for example, traffic associated with a particular sector or type of activity. A further layer shows the average weekly density grid (heat map) for each year.
The data layers display AIS vessel transit lines from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s network of receivers, which ABPmer created on behalf of the Marine Management Organisation.
Raw AIS data, sampled from the first seven days of each month, has been processed to create the shipping density and route layers.
The data processing follows the UK Data Standard for AIS presentation established by ABPmer in ‘Mapping UK shipping density and routes from AIS (Project MMO 1066)’.
View 2017 AIS dataset at https://vision.abpmer.net/AIS/2017
ABPmer’s GIS and Data Business Manager, Chris Jackson, said, “AIS is a valuable source of vessel information so we are really excited to share this latest dataset together with our previous layers.
“At ABPmer we have AIS databases going back many years. We regularly use them to inform our work whether that’s to identify shipping trends or understand changes on a seasonal or annual basis.
“And of course, it is especially important for informing EIA navigational risk assessments to understand the implications of proposed developments and activities.”
AIS stands for ‘Automatic Identifications System’ and is used by vessels to automatically transmit their position. AIS is carried by international voyaging ships with gross tonnage of 300 or more tonnes, and all passenger ships regardless of size. AIS is also carried by smaller commercial vessels, the fishing sector and leisure craft users.
ABPmer’s inhouse specialists are skilled in decoding, mapping and analysing AIS data. To discuss how it can support your decision-making contact Chris Jackson on +44 (0) 23 8071 1856.
View 2017 AIS dataset at https://vision.abpmer.net/AIS/2017
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