Building a maritime application often requires more than placing vessel positions on a map. Developers may need current AIS positions, historical tracks, port-call records, fleet monitoring, geofence alerts, or estimated arrival information.
An AIS DATA API provides a structured way to integrate these capabilities into logistics platforms, fleet dashboards, port systems, maritime SaaS products, and analytical applications.
This tutorial explains how to get started with the ShipFinder vessel tracking api, from registering an account and creating an API key to configuring monitored fleets and geographic areas.
What You Can Build with an AIS DATA API
Before creating an API key, it helps to define the maritime workflow your application needs to support.
ShipFinder provides API datasets and services for several common requirements:
- Retrieving the latest position of a single vessel
- Querying the positions of multiple vessels or an entire fleet
- Searching for vessels by identifying information
- Finding vessels near a location or inside a defined area
- Accessing current and historical port-call information
- Reconstructing historical vessel tracks
- Querying route-planning and ETA information
- Monitoring fleets and geographic zones
- Receiving vessel-position and maritime-event notifications
- Accessing marine weather and related datasets
The appropriate combination depends on whether you are developing a customer-facing vessel map, an internal operations dashboard, a supply-chain visibility tool, or a maritime analytics product.
Step 1: Create a ShipFinder Account
Begin by visiting the ShipFinder AIS Data API page and opening the API Console.
If you already have a ShipFinder account, sign in using your existing credentials. New users can register an account before continuing. Google sign-up is also available for users who prefer a streamlined registration process.
After signing in, return to the API section and open the Console. This is where you can manage API keys, review access permissions, and configure monitoring services.
Step 2: Create Your API Key
In the Console sidebar, select My API Keys, then choose Create API Key.
ShipFinder offers two relevant key types:
Starter Key
The Starter key is intended for personal evaluation, development, and preliminary integration testing. It includes a predefined permission scope so that users can test core functionality before requesting a production configuration.
A Starter key is available for immediate use after creation. According to the official integration tutorial, each account may hold one Starter key.
Custom Key
A Custom key is designed for production workloads or testing that requires specific services and permissions.
When requesting this key, select the services relevant to your project. A newly created Custom key does not have active services by default. ShipFinder’s business team reviews the request and enables the agreed permissions after confirming the requirements.
Each account can hold up to five API keys in total. Once a key has been created, it appears in the API key list and can be copied for use in your application.
Treat the key as a credential. Store it securely, limit access to authorized systems, and avoid exposing it in public repositories, browser-side code, screenshots, or shared documents.
Step 3: Select the Required API Services
The next step is matching your application requirements to the available datasets.
For a basic vessel tracking api workflow, you might begin with:
- Single-vessel position
- Multi-vessel position
- Fleet position
- Vessel search
- Nearby-vessel search
- Vessels within a defined zone
Applications requiring voyage context may also use port information, berthed-vessel queries, anchored-vessel queries, or inbound-arrival data.
For historical analysis, ShipFinder provides services covering vessel tracks, ship-to-ship events, and port-call records. Route-planning, ETA, marine-weather, fleet-management, and event-monitoring services can be added when they match the intended workflow.
Review the ShipFinder API documentation for the parameters, permissions, response fields, and usage requirements of each selected service.
Step 4: Prepare Requests and Data Handling
Once the key has the required permissions, your application can begin sending requests to the selected endpoints.
The general process is:
- Select the endpoint that corresponds to the required vessel, voyage, historical, or event data.
- Construct the request according to the endpoint documentation.
- Include the API key using the authentication method specified for that service.
- Validate all required parameters before sending the request.
- Receive the response in the supported format.
- Parse the returned payload according to your application’s business logic.
ShipFinder services return JSON or binary data depending on the requested resource. Your system should also be prepared to process service return codes, invalid parameters, unavailable data, and permission-related responses.
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