U.S. Coastal AIS Vessel Tracks from Land-Based Antennas

U.S. coastal vessel tracks show the location and characteristics of commercial and recreational boats via Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals. The data is collected from a national network of land-based antennas operated by the U.S. Coast Guard and published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The dataset was last updated on April 10, 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling vessel traffic density based on the frequency of vessel tracks mentioned in the description
• Assessing risk of conflicting maritime uses based on the distribution and type of vessel tracks
• Identifying potential AIS signal interference patterns based on described gaps within vessel tracks
• Analyzing spatial patterns of commercial versus recreational boat activity based on described vessel characteristics

Strengths

• Data originates from a national network operated by the U.S. Coast Guard, suggesting authoritative collection
• Includes both commercial and recreational vessel tracks, as stated in the description
• Last update timestamp (2026-04 10 19:48:16.624415) is precisely recorded

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to land-based antenna coverage

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Collected and recorded from land-based antennas as part of a national network operated by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 19:48:16.624415; freshness should be verified

Geography

Likely covers U.S. coastal areas served by the national antenna network.