AIS Vessel Tracks 2024
Data Set (DS) | Office for Coastal Management (OCM)GUID: gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:75937 | Updated: May 21, 2025 | Published / External
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Summary
Short Citation
Office for Coastal Management, 2025: AIS Vessel Tracks 2024, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/75937.
Full Citation Examples
A vessel track shows the location and characteristics of commercial and recreational boats as a sequence of positions transmitted by an Automatic Identification System (AIS). AIS signals are susceptible to interference and this can result in a gap within a vessel track. The distribution, type, and frequency of vessel tracks are a useful aid to understanding the risk of conflicting uses within a certain geographic area. The vessel track positions in this data set are collected and recorded from land-based antennas as part of a national network operated by the U.S. Coast Guard.
PurposeTo support ocean planning activities pursuant to the Executive Order Regarding the Ocean Policy to Advance the Economic, Security, and Environmental Interests of the United States, the Energy Policy Act, the Rivers and Harbors Act, and the Coastal Zone Management Act.
Distribution Information
-
Marine Cadastre Data Registry
For coastal and ocean planning
Controlled Theme Keywords
oceans, transportation
Child Items
No Child Items for this record.
Contact Information
Point of Contact
NOAA Office for Coastal Management (NOAA/OCM)
coastal.info@noaa.gov
(843) 740-1202
https://coast.noaa.gov
Extents
-168° W,
-60° E,
50° N,
15° S
2024-01-01 - 2024-12-31
Item Identification
| Title: | AIS Vessel Tracks 2024 |
|---|---|
| Status: | Completed |
| Publication Date: | 2025-05-16 |
| Abstract: |
A vessel track shows the location and characteristics of commercial and recreational boats as a sequence of positions transmitted by an Automatic Identification System (AIS). AIS signals are susceptible to interference and this can result in a gap within a vessel track. The distribution, type, and frequency of vessel tracks are a useful aid to understanding the risk of conflicting uses within a certain geographic area. The vessel track positions in this data set are collected and recorded from land-based antennas as part of a national network operated by the U.S. Coast Guard. |
| Purpose: |
To support ocean planning activities pursuant to the Executive Order Regarding the Ocean Policy to Advance the Economic, Security, and Environmental Interests of the United States, the Energy Policy Act, the Rivers and Harbors Act, and the Coastal Zone Management Act. |
| Supplemental Information: |
Bureau Code: 006:48, Program Code: 006:055 |
Keywords
Theme Keywords
| Thesaurus | Keyword |
|---|---|
| ISO 19115 Topic Category |
oceans
|
| ISO 19115 Topic Category |
transportation
|
| UNCONTROLLED | |
| None | coastal |
| None | energy |
| None | planning |
Spatial Keywords
| Thesaurus | Keyword |
|---|---|
| UNCONTROLLED | |
| None | Exclusive Economic Zone |
| None | Outer Continental Shelf |
| None | Territorial Sea |
| None | United States of America |
Physical Location
| Organization: | Office for Coastal Management |
|---|---|
| City: | Charleston |
| State/Province: | SC |
Data Set Information
| Data Set Scope Code: | Data Set |
|---|---|
| Data Set Type: | Geopackage |
| Maintenance Frequency: | None Planned |
| Data Presentation Form: | Map (digital) |
| Entity Attribute Overview: |
OBJECTID, MMSI, TrackStartTime, TrackEndTime, VesselType, Length, Width, Draft, DurationMinutes, VesselGroup |
| Distribution Liability: |
https://hub.marinecadastre.gov/pages/disclaimer |
| Data Set Credit: | U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, NOAA Office for Coastal Management |
Support Roles
Point of Contact
| Date Effective From: | 2025-05-15 |
|---|---|
| Date Effective To: | |
| Contact (Organization): | NOAA Office for Coastal Management (NOAA/OCM) |
| Address: |
2234 South Hobson Ave Charleston, SC 29405-2413 |
| Email Address: | coastal.info@noaa.gov |
| Phone: | (843) 740-1202 |
| URL: | https://coast.noaa.gov |
Extents
Extent Group 1
Extent Group 1 / Geographic Area 1
| W° Bound: | -168 | |
|---|---|---|
| E° Bound: | -60 | |
| N° Bound: | 50 | |
| S° Bound: | 15 |
Extent Group 1 / Time Frame 1
| Time Frame Type: | Range |
|---|---|
| Start: | 2024-01-01 |
| End: | 2024-12-31 |
Spatial Information
Spatial Representation
Representations Used
| Grid: | No |
|---|---|
| Vector: | Yes |
| Text / Table: | No |
| TIN: | No |
| Stereo Model: | No |
| Video: | No |
Vector Representation 1
| Topology Level: | Geometry Only |
|---|---|
| Complex Object Present?: | No |
| Composite Object Present?: | No |
| Curve Object Present?: | Yes |
| Point Object Present?: | No |
| Solid Object Present?: | No |
| Surface Object Present?: | No |
Reference Systems
Reference System 1
Coordinate Reference System |
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Access Information
| Security Class: | Unclassified |
|---|---|
| Data Use Constraints: |
For coastal and ocean planning |
Distribution Information
Distribution 1
| Download URL: | https://marinecadastre.gov/data |
|---|---|
| Distributor: | |
| Description: |
Marine Cadastre Data Registry |
Distribution 2
| Download URL: | https://marinecadastre.gov/downloads/data/ais/ais2024/AISVesselTracks2024.zip |
|---|---|
| Distributor: |
Technical Environment
| Description: |
Microsoft Windows, ArcGIS Pro |
|---|
Data Quality
| Horizontal Positional Accuracy: |
Compiled to meet 10 meters horizontal accuracy at 95% confidence level |
|---|---|
| Completeness Report: |
a) The geographic extent of these data include the conterminous United States, Hawaii, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. b) Presence, absence, and contiguity of a track is dependent on the distance and temporal filters applied in the track building algorithm. Parameters for these data were 1 nautical mile and 30 minutes. |
| Conceptual Consistency: |
These data are logically consistent |
Lineage
Sources
U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center
| Publish Date: | 2025-01-01 |
|---|---|
| Source Contribution: |
Daily compressed log files containing original AIS messages in NMEA format for the months of January through December for the United States |
Process Steps
Process Step 1
| Description: |
1. Filter the raw NMEA data to a one-minute sample rate and select a subset of fields using Marine Cadastre NMEA to SQL Server processing tools 2. Load filtered records to an SQL Server 2024 database using MarineCadastre.gov NMEA to SQL Server processing tools 3. Conduct quality and completeness check using logging results from the filter and loading process 4. Update the VesselType, Length, Width, and Draft from United States Coast Guard AVIS where original AIS values are missing 5. Add a new vessel type code to each record fragment that originated from the United States Coast Guard AVIS 6. Develop track line features directly from the SQL Server database using a customize version of the Marine Cadastre Track Builder 3.1 (64-bit version) for each month of broadcast records and for each ocean basin, using a filter setting of 30 minutes and 1 mile 7. Add field for vessel type group and populate based on the vessel type code to vessel group mapping described in attribute metadata 8. Add field for track line duration, and calculate the time in minutes between the start and end time for each track feature 9. Perform visual quality and consistency checks, and remove vessel tracks that are clearly invalid (on land) or beyond the ocean basin 10. REPAIR GEOMETRY to correct features with null geometry, self intersections, and other errors |
|---|---|
| Process Date/Time: | 2025-03-01 00:00:00 |
Catalog Details
| Catalog Item ID: | 75937 |
|---|---|
| GUID: | gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:75937 |
| Metadata Record Created By: | Jesse Brass |
| Metadata Record Created: | 2025-05-14 18:02+0000 |
| Metadata Record Last Modified By: | Jesse Brass |
| Metadata Record Last Modified: | 2025-05-21 10:08+0000 |
| Metadata Record Published: | 2025-05-20 |
| Owner Org: | OCM |
| Metadata Publication Status: | Published Externally |
| Do Not Publish?: | N |
| Metadata Last Review Date: | 2025-05-20 |
| Metadata Review Frequency: | 1 Year |
| Metadata Next Review Date: | 2026-05-20 |