Route Planner and Live Ship Tracking serve two different purposes. Route Planner helps you decide where a vessel could go and how a journey could be organized, while Live Ship Tracking shows where a vessel is actually moving now.
On MarineRadar, these two tools work well together: you can plan a route by adding stops, selecting a date and time, setting a speed, and choosing whether to avoid canals; then you can use live vessel tracking and AIS information to understand real-world ship movement.
The difference is simple: Route Planner looks ahead; Live Ship Tracking looks at what is happening. Understanding both makes MarineRadar more useful for ship enthusiasts, logistics teams, researchers, and anyone who wants to understand how vessels travel across the world’s oceans.
Route Planning and Live Tracking Are Not the Same Thing
A route planner helps create a possible journey using selected locations and travel settings. Live tracking, meanwhile, displays the vessel’s actual positions based on available maritime tracking data.
MarineRadar brings these ideas together through its route and tracking capabilities. Its website currently lists live AIS positions for more than 112,000 vessels across 236 countries, along with vessel information, routes, destinations, history, ports, and other maritime data.
What Does MarineRadar Live Ship Tracking Show?
MarineRadar’s live map displays vessel positions and allows users to open ship information directly from the map. The platform says users can access ship names, types, routes, destinations, and historical information.
Depending on the available vessel data, you can examine information such as
- Current vessel position
- Vessel name
- Ship type
- Speed
- Course
- Destination
- ETA
- Vessel history
- Port arrivals and departures
- Nearby vessels
- IMO or MMSI information
The MarineRadar app listing also highlights near-real-time vessel positions, extensive AIS coverage, detailed ship information, port arrivals and departures, fleet monitoring, route history and playback, and customizable notifications.
What Does the MarineRadar Route Planner Do?
Instead of waiting for a vessel to move, you can build a route between selected locations and adjust important journey settings.
The Route Planner workflow includes options such as
- Starting point
- Destination
- Add Stops
- Date and Time
- Speed
- Avoid Canals
For example, suppose you want to plan a journey from one port to another.
You can add an intermediate port as a stop, choose when the journey starts, set a speed, and decide whether canals should be avoided. This gives you a more useful picture of how the planned voyage might look.
Route Planner vs. Live Ship Tracking at a Glance
Feature | Route Planner | Live Ship Tracking |
Main purpose | Plan a journey. | Monitor a vessel |
Focus | Future or planned movement | Current/actual movement |
Starting point | Selected by the user | Vessel’s current/known position |
Stops | Can add stops | Shows actual port calls/movement |
Date & time | Can set planned date/time | Shows current and reported data |
Speed | The user can set the planning speed | Displays the vessel’s reported speed |
Canal option | Can avoid canals when planning | Shows the vessel’s actual route |
Vessel data | Helps build a route | Uses available AIS/tracking data |
Route history | Not the main purpose | Available for reviewing past movement |
Best for | Planning and comparing routes | Monitoring and analyzing vessels |
The important point is that neither tool replaces the other.
How to Use MarineRadar Route Planner?
If you want to create a planned vessel route, follow these steps.
Step 1: Open MarineRadar.
Open MarineRadar and access the route-planning feature.
The platform is available through its website and mobile app, while the current Google Play listing describes MarineRadar as a vessel-tracking app with near-real-time global vessel positions and maritime information.
Step 2: Select Your Starting Point
Choose where the planned voyage should begin.
This could be:
- A port
- A coastal location
- A waypoint
- Another point on the map
The starting point gives the planner the first part of your proposed journey.
Step 3: Select the Destination
Next, choose where you want the vessel to finish. The route planner can then calculate the journey between the selected locations.
At this point, you have created the basic structure:
Start → Destination
But you can make it more detailed.
Step 4: Add Stops Along the Route
The Add Stops option is useful when the vessel needs to visit multiple locations.
For example:
Port A → Port B → Port C → Port D
Instead of creating a simple point-to-point route, you can add intermediate stops. This can be helpful when planning a multi-port voyage or comparing different journey patterns.
It also makes route planning more realistic because ships frequently operate through port networks rather than simply travelling from one destination to another.
Step 5: Set the Date and Time
Next, choose the date and time for the planned journey.
This is important because the same route can produce different planning results depending on when the journey starts.
For example, you may want to compare:
- A morning departure
- An evening departure
- Different travel dates
- Different expected arrival times
A planned date and time also make the route easier to understand as a journey rather than just a line on a map.
Step 6: Set the Speed
The next option is speed. Enter the expected vessel speed you want the planner to use.
Speed matters because a ship travelling faster can generally cover the same distance in less time, while a slower speed increases the expected journey duration.
This is also important from an operational perspective. The IMO’s GreenVoyage2050 program explains that speed management is an important part of ship energy efficiency, while weather, currents, and other conditions can influence the power needed to maintain a particular speed.
Step 7: Choose Whether to Avoid Canals
MarineRadar’s Route Planner also provides an Avoid Canals option. This is useful when you want to compare a canal-based route with a route that stays outside canals.
For example, you might compare:
Route A: Uses a canal or waterway
Route B: Avoids canals and takes a longer open-sea route
The second route may be longer, but it can help illustrate how route restrictions or preferences affect the overall journey.
This is especially relevant when studying global shipping because maritime routes are not always simply about finding the shortest line between two points.
Why Would Someone Plan a Route Before Tracking It?
Route planning gives you a reference point.
Suppose your planned route is
Singapore → Colombo → Port Said → Rotterdam
You now have an expected journey structure.
Live ship tracking can then help you observe actual vessels operating around those locations.
You can compare:
Planned route → Actual movement
This comparison can help reveal differences between an expected journey and what happens in the real world.
A ship might:
- Take a different path
- Travel more slowly
- Wait outside a port
- Change its destination
- Make an additional port call
- Take a longer route
- Encounter operational delays
This is where route planning and live tracking become much more powerful together.
Live Tracking Shows the Reality of Maritime Travel
A planned route can look simple on a map. Real shipping is much more complicated.
MarineRadar’s live tracking system provides information about vessel movement and port activity, while its route playback allows users to review past vessel paths.
For example, imagine that a ship is expected to travel between two ports.
The route planner might produce a straightforward path.
However, the actual ship could later appear to:
- Move around a weather system
- Change course
- Slow down
- Wait offshore
- Take a different shipping lane
- Spend time at another port
Live tracking helps you see these changes as they happen or as data becomes available.
Why Actual Ship Routes Can Be Longer Than Planned Routes
One of the biggest differences between planning and reality is that ships do not always take the shortest possible route.
There are many reasons.
Weather
Wind, waves, storms, and currents can influence routing decisions.
The IMO notes that weather routing considers wind, waves, and ocean currents and that route choices need to balance efficiency with safety and speed.
Safety
A safe route can be more important than the shortest route.
Port Operations
Ships may have to wait before entering a port or change their arrival schedule.
Geopolitical Risks
Political or security problems can change established shipping routes.
This is particularly relevant today. UNCTAD’s Review of Maritime Transport 2025 reports that geopolitical tensions and disruptions have caused ships to take longer routes, including voyages around the Cape of Good Hope instead of using the Red Sea route.
Canals and Chokepoints
Major canals and maritime chokepoints can have a huge impact on voyage distance and timing.
That makes MarineRadar’s Avoid Canals planning option particularly useful for comparing route scenarios.
Why Route Planning Matters More in Modern Shipping
Shipping routes are constantly changing. UNCTAD reports that more than 80% of the volume of international trade in goods is carried by sea, making shipping routes essential to the global economy.
The same organization reported that vessel rerouting increased shipping distances and contributed to a 5.9% increase in ton-miles in 2024, showing how route changes can affect the amount of work the global fleet performs.
This is why route planning is not simply about drawing the shortest line.
It can help users think about:
- Distance
- Speed
- Stops
- Canals
- Timing
- Port connections
- Alternative routes
Route Planner Is About Possibilities; Live Tracking Is About Evidence.
This is perhaps the easiest way to understand the difference.
Route Planner
You choose:
- Start
- Destination
- Stops
- Date
- Time
- Speed
- Canal preference
Live Ship Tracking
You observe:
- Current location
- Current speed
- Course
- Destination
- ETA
- Status
- Route history
- Port movements
How to Combine Route Planner and Live Tracking
You can get more value by using the tools together.
Step 1: Build a Route
Create a route using the Route Planner.
Step 2: Add Stops
Include the ports or locations you want the journey to pass through.
Step 3: Choose Date and Time
Set the planned departure details.
Step 4: Set Speed
Enter the expected travel speed.
Step 5: Compare Canal Options
Turn Avoid Canals on or off and compare the resulting route.
Step 6: Save Your Planning Reference
Keep the planned route as a reference for comparison.
Step 7: Open Live Ship Tracking
Search for vessels operating along the same region or route.
Step 8: Compare Actual Movement
Look at the vessel’s real position, speed, destination, and course.
Step 9: Use Route History
MarineRadar’s route history and playback can help you examine how a vessel moved over time.
This creates a simple workflow:
Plan → Track → Compare → Learn
Which One Should Beginners Use First?
If you are completely new to ship tracking, start with Live Ship Tracking.
It is easier to understand because you can simply select a vessel and see where it is.
Once you understand:
- Vessel position
- Speed
- Course
- Destination
- ETA
You can move to Route Planner.
Route Planner then helps you understand why a route may look the way it does and how different planning choices affect a journey.
For beginners, the two tools can be learned in this order:
Live Map → Vessel Details → Route History → Route Planner
Seeing Planning and Reality Together
The real value of comparing Route Planner with Live Ship Tracking is that you can see the difference between an expected journey and a real journey.
A planned route might say:
“This is the route we could take.”
Live tracking can show:
“This is where the ship actually went.”
That difference can teach you a lot about maritime transportation.
It can reveal how weather, ports, canals, speed, traffic, geopolitical conditions, and other factors influence vessel movement.
Conclusion
Route Planner and Live Ship Tracking are complementary MarineRadar tools, not competing ones.
Route Planner helps you create and compare a possible voyage using stops, dates, and times, speed, and the option to avoid canals.
Live Ship Tracking, on the other hand, lets you monitor actual vessels using available maritime tracking data, including position, speed, course, destination, ETA, and route history.
For simple ship watching, Live Tracking may be all you need. But if you want to understand how routes are created, how alternative paths differ, and why real ships sometimes deviate from the expected route, using both tools together provides a much richer picture.
Download MarineRadar: Vessel Tracker from the Google Play Store or App Store today and experience real-time ship tracking.
FAQs
What is the difference between Route Planner and Live Ship Tracking?
Route Planner helps create a possible voyage, while Live Ship Tracking shows actual vessel movement based on available tracking data.
Can I add stops in MarineRadar Route Planner?
Yes. The Add Stops option lets you add intermediate locations between the starting point and the final destination.
Can I choose a date and time?
Yes. The Route Planner includes a date and time option, allowing you to set the journey’s planned timing.
Can MarineRadar Route Planner avoid canals?
Yes. The Avoid Canals option lets you plan a route without using canals, making it easier to compare alternatives.
Can I see where a ship actually travelled?
Yes. MarineRadar provides route history and playback capabilities for analyzing vessel movement over time.
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