Marine traffic is closely monitored

Marine traffic is monitored with the Automatic Identification System (AIS), which automatically identifies ships and determines their locations with equipment intended for this task. The system is based on radio equipment installed on ships that continuously broadcast the ships’ location and identification data. The information is broadcasted on dedicated radio frequencies.


The broadcasts are freely available to all other ships and the coastal guards of all nations. The broadcasts enable the locations to be monitored and movement of ships within range very precisely.

Watch marine traffic in real-time

You can watch marine traffic in the sea areas near Finland (Gulf of Finland, Gulf of Bothnia, the Sea of Åland and the Northern Baltic) and in Finland’s inland waters in real-time with map services that utilise AIS data.

The marine traffic information on the Aluskartta.com website is based on the Digitraffic service of Traffic Management Finland (the site is in Finnish). You can zoom in on the map, and by selecting one of the icons representing ships, the service displays more information on that specific ship. Each type of vessel has an icon with its own colour, and the legend for the colours can be seen in the lower right corner of the map.

Global marine traffic can be watched on the MarineTraffic website, among others. The site also displays data on pleasure crafts and fishing vessels.