Survey of Available Web Services for Maritime Tracking

In this paper we present a review of available webservices capable of tracking maritime vessels and containers. Many of the reviewed services are provided directly by the cargo carriers (with 57 such international carriers being catalogued here). They are analysed in-depth with the following criteria being used for evaluation purposes: type of tracking and useful information. We also review a range of services provided by noncarrier organizations specialising in maritime data. Reviewed services from non-carrier organizations are considered as belonging to either one of two broad categories: the ones providing container/vessel tracking and those that provide real time visualization of vessel/cargo position. Sixteen from the first category and 9 from the second are analysed in-depth with the following criteria being used for evaluation purposes: data source, type of tracking, type of access, geographical visualization, data coverage, provision of historical perspective, possibility of notifications and availability of other useful