Help & FAQ
Answers, fast.
The most common questions about Vessel Hunter: data and coverage, watchlists, contact enrichment, plans, and privacy. Can’t find it? Open help in the bottom-right corner to search, or message our team.
Getting started
What is Vessel Hunter?
It tracks commercial ships on live AIS and tells you who's behind each one, the owner, the manager, the operator, with a contact you can call. So a ship on the map turns into someone you can actually do business with. Built for the people who sell to ships: yards, suppliers, service providers, port agents.
Who is Vessel Hunter for?
The people who sell to ships. Port agents working arrivals, chandlers and suppliers chasing port calls, yards after refit work, service providers who need the operator behind a vessel. If your day runs on knowing which ships are coming and who runs them, it's for you.
How do I get started?
Request access from the site. Once you're in, sign in and open the dashboard, then have a poke around: search a ship by name or IMO, build a watchlist for the vessels or ports you care about, open a dossier to see the specs, the ownership and the contact behind the ship.
Data & coverage
Where does the vessel data come from?
Positions are live AIS, off both coastal antennas and satellites, so a ship stays on the map out at sea. We match that to the vessel particulars, the ownership tree and the port records, all pinned to the IMO number so a ship's history sticks with the vessel through a rename or a reflag.
Which vessels and areas are covered?
Pretty much the whole commercial fleet that broadcasts AIS, tankers, bulkers, boxships, gas carriers and the rest, wherever coastal or satellite AIS can hear them. Filter the fleet by type, size, area or owner. If a ship or a region looks missing, tell us and we'll check it for you.
How up to date is the tracking data?
Positions come in close to live as the AIS broadcasts land. They're tightest near the coast, where the antennas are; out in open water it leans on satellite passes, so it can lag a little. The vessel details, ownership and port history refresh on their own schedule, not second by second.
How do I find a specific vessel?
Hit Cmd-K (or Ctrl-K) anywhere in the app, or open the fleet explorer, and search by name or IMO. IMO is the one to use: it never changes, even after a sale or a rename. Click a result and you land on the full dossier.
How do you tell if a ship is laden or in ballast?
From the draught she broadcasts herself. A ship floats as deep as the weight she carries, so her reported draught, set against how deep a vessel of her size sits fully loaded, says laden or in ballast. You see it on the vessel page and can filter your fleet on it. It works for tankers, bulkers and other ships whose cargo is weight limited; container ships don't sit much deeper when full, so for them we don't guess. It's in Beta.
Which sanctions lists do you screen against?
The live official sanctions lists. Every designation shows the list it came from, and we check the lists every week for changes. The Sanctions page in the sidebar, in Beta, screens your whole fleet in one go, lets you browse the lists and this week's changes, and takes up to 500 names pasted or uploaded at once.
How do I see new IMO rules and changes to my vessels?
On the IMO changes page in the sidebar, in Beta. One tab lists the IMO rules that are coming into force or recently did, such as new emission control areas and MARPOL or SOLAS amendments, with the date, what changes and how many of your vessels each one reaches, linked to the IMO document. The other tab shows every flag, owner, operator, manager, name and class change on the vessels in your lists, or the newest ones across the whole fleet.
Can I find a company by an old name?
Yes. Search knows former names, old spellings and abbreviations for tens of thousands of companies. Hit Cmd-K (or Ctrl-K), type the name you remember, and you land on the company as it's called today. Duplicate records are merged too, so an old spelling redirects to the one right page.
Watchlists & alerts
What are watchlists and how do alerts work?
A watchlist is a saved thing you want an eye kept on: a few vessels, a whole fleet, a port, an area. When something matches, say a ship you track is closing on your port, it throws an alert so you can move before she arrives. You set them up and tune the rules from the dashboard.
How do I get notified, by email, push, or Slack?
Email, web push and in-app alerts today, and Slack if you want it. Each hunt can also mail its own address. Phone push comes with the iOS and Android apps, later this year. Pick which events go where in your notification settings.
How many watchlists can I create?
As many as you like: watchlists, watched ports and saved hunts are unlimited on every plan. You manage the lot from the dashboard.
Contacts & enrichment
How do I find the contact behind a vessel?
Open a dossier and it links through to the operator and owner, and shows the verified person who actually decides: name, role, and a business email or mobile where we've got one. These are work contacts, B2B, not personal numbers. How many you can pull up depends on your account, so if you need more, just ask.
How accurate and current are the contacts?
Each contact carries the date we last checked it, so you can see how fresh it is, and we tie ownership to the IMO so it stays on the right company when things change. Nothing's ever perfect, so if one's wrong, flag it and we'll fix it.
Account & access
How do I sign in or reset my password?
Sign in on the login page with your email and password. Forgot it? Use the "Forgot password" link and we email you a reset. No account yet? Request access and we get you set up.
Can I add teammates to my account?
Yes. Bring your team onto one workspace and they share the same watchlists and saved views. The per-seat price drops past five seats, so tell us how many you need and we'll sort it.
Plans & billing
What plans are available and how much do they cost?
Three plans, priced per user per month: Maritime for the vessel intelligence, Maritime + Contacts when you want verified contacts too, and Unlimited without a ceiling. Pay monthly, or yearly for 10% off. The price per user drops from five users up, and big fleet teams get their own terms. You start with a trial; when it ends, or when a plan is cancelled, access closes until you subscribe. The pricing page has the current rates.
How do I upgrade, change, or cancel my plan?
It's all in billing settings: change or cancel through the billing portal, and the change follows your billing cycle. When a plan ends, access closes until you subscribe again. Need an invoice, a refund, or a hand with a charge? Drop us a line and we'll sort it.
Mobile app
Is there a mobile app?
Not yet, but soon. Native iOS and Android apps and an Apple Watch companion are coming this year, for checking arrivals, watchlists and contacts on the move and getting alerts on your wrist. Same login as the web.
Privacy & security
How do you handle privacy and GDPR?
We run out of the EU (Vessel Hunter, in Bergen op Zoom) and handle work-contact data, B2B, under GDPR. There's a privacy policy and a DPA you can read, and cookie consent you control. For a data or compliance request, reach us on the privacy page.
Still need a hand?
Open the support assistant in the bottom-right corner to ask a question, or request access to get started. Support is live during business hours, and otherwise answers within 24 hours.