MarineTraffic
marinetraffic.com
Real-time ship tracking service showing the position and details of vessels worldwide using AIS transponder data, with port activity and voyage history.
Why it is useful
Provides visibility into global maritime trade that was previously only available to industry insiders — you can watch container ships, tankers, and cargo vessels moving in real time. For journalists investigating supply chains, commodity analysts, or anyone curious about how global trade physically moves, it is a remarkable free resource. The port congestion views became widely used during supply chain disruptions.