Track Cargo Ships & Tankers Live

Q: Can I track the ship carrying my shipping container?

If you know the vessel's name from your freight forwarder or booking, yes — search it and follow position, destination and ETA. Note that trackers follow ships, not individual containers; for box-level status you still need the carrier's container tracking.

Q: What do a cargo ship's destination and ETA mean on AIS?

Destination and ETA are entered by the ship's crew and broadcast over AIS. They're usually reliable for the current leg, but they update when the crew updates them — a ship can sail for 'SINGAPORE ANCH' (anchorage) before its final berth, for example.

Q: How do I see which ships are arriving at a port?

VesselFlow's port view lists vessels currently at a port and inbound ones sorted by soonest ETA, using AIS destinations. It covers thousands of ports worldwide via the UN/LOCODE registry.

Ninety percent of everything you own arrived by sea. Whether you're waiting on a container, watching a tanker route, or just fascinated by the machinery of global trade, here's how to follow commercial shipping from your phone.

Find the ship

Have a name? Search it directly — freight forwarders and booking confirmations name the vessel (e.g. “EVER GIVEN”, “MSC OSCAR”).
Have an MMSI? Even better — the 9-digit search is exact.
Just browsing? Filter the map to Cargo (green: container, bulk and general cargo) or Tanker (red: oil, gas and chemical). Shipping lanes light up like highways.

Read the voyage like a pro

Live telemetry (free): position, speed and course. Loaded container ships cruise at 16–20 knots; a ship doing 2 knots near a port is queuing for a berth.
Voyage (Pro): departure port, AIS destination, progress bar and live ETA countdown. Crews write destinations in shorthand — “SINGAPORE ANCH” means the anchorage, “USNYC” is the UN/LOCODE for New York.
Recent track (Pro): the actual sailed route with a speed graph — you can see canal transits, weather detours and anchorage waits at a glance.
Specs (Pro): length, beam, draught, deadweight and TEU capacity — the difference between a feeder ship and a 20,000-TEU giant.

Watch a port instead of a ship

Sometimes the question isn't “where is this ship?” but “what's coming in?” VesselFlow's port view lists vessels currently at a port and inbound vessels sorted by soonest ETA, across thousands of ports worldwide. It's the harbor master's board, in your pocket.

Tracking a container? Ship trackers follow the vessel, not the box. Pair VesselFlow (where's the ship, when does it dock) with your carrier's container tracking (which ship, which box) — the vessel name on your bill of lading is the bridge between the two.

Anchorages, dark spells and other normal weirdness

Ships parked in clusters offshore are at anchorage waiting for a berth — normal, especially outside busy ports.
Mid-ocean silence is an AIS coverage gap, not a lost ship — coverage resumes near land. (Full explanation in our disappearing-ships guide.)
Zig-zag tracks are usually weather routing or traffic separation schemes, the sea's version of lane markings.

Follow global shipping with VesselFlow

Live cargo and tanker tracking with voyages, ETAs and port boards. Free on iPhone & iPad.

Download on the App Store

FAQ

Can I track the ship carrying my shipping container?

Yes, by the vessel name from your forwarder. Trackers follow ships, not boxes — pair with carrier container tracking for box-level status.

What do a cargo ship's destination and ETA mean on AIS?

They're crew-entered and broadcast over AIS — reliable for the current leg, updated when the crew updates them.

How do I see which ships are arriving at a port?

The port view lists vessels at port and inbound by soonest ETA, across thousands of UN/LOCODE ports.