Cargo Vessels
35,853 cargo vessels tracked worldwide
Cargo vessels (AIS type 70–79) are commercial ships designed to carry goods in bulk, forming the backbone of global maritime trade. This broad category encompasses container ships that carry standardized TEU containers on fixed liner routes, bulk carriers transporting unpackaged commodities such as grain, coal, iron ore, and bauxite, general cargo ships handling breakbulk and project cargo, reefer vessels equipped with refrigerated holds for perishable goods, ro-ro (roll-on/roll-off) ships designed for wheeled cargo including cars, trucks, and trailers, and heavy-lift ships capable of transporting oversized industrial equipment. Container ships alone are responsible for moving over 80% of the world’s non-bulk traded goods by volume. Cargo vessels range from small coastal freighters of a few thousand deadweight tonnes to Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCVs) exceeding 24,000 TEU capacity and 400 meters in length.
Track cargo vessels worldwide
See 35,853 cargo ships on a live map, follow journeys, and get alerts when one moves.
Subtypes within the Cargo Vessel Category
Cargo shipping spans six main subtypes. Container ships, the workhorses of liner trade, range from feeder vessels of 1,000 TEU up to Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCVs) exceeding 24,000 TEU and 400 metres in length. Bulk carriers haul dry commodities — grain, coal, iron ore, bauxite — in size classes from Handysize (10,000–35,000 DWT) up to Capesize (over 150,000 DWT) and Valemax (around 400,000 DWT). General cargo and breakbulk ships handle palletised, crated, and oversized loads not suited to containers. Reefer vessels carry temperature-controlled cargo such as fruit and meat. Ro-ro (roll-on/roll-off) ships move wheeled cargo: cars, trucks, trailers, and construction machinery. Heavy-lift and project cargo ships transport oversized industrial equipment such as wind-turbine blades, offshore platform modules, and refinery components.
How Cargo Vessels Operate
Cargo shipping operates under two commercial models. Liner trade follows fixed schedules between published ports — most container shipping uses this model, anchored by global alliances that share vessel capacity across Asia–Europe, transpacific, and transatlantic loops. Tramp trade is voyage-by-voyage: bulk carriers and general cargo ships are chartered on the spot market or under time-charter agreements based on demand. A typical voyage involves loading at one or more origin ports, ocean transit at 12–22 knots depending on bunker prices and schedule, transit through chokepoints with pilot assistance, and discharge at destination. Voyage durations range from days for short-sea trade to over a month for transpacific and Asia–Europe routes. Cargo vessels typically spend 60–80% of operational time underway and the remainder loading and discharging in port.
Tracking Cargo Vessels with AIS
Cargo ships transmit Class A AIS under SOLAS for vessels over 300 GT on international voyages or 500 GT domestically. Class A transponders broadcast position, course over ground, speed over ground, heading, navigation status, rate of turn, destination, ETA, and current draught. Reporting intervals vary with movement: every 2–10 seconds while underway, every 3 minutes when at anchor, and every 6 minutes when moored. Terrestrial receivers within VHF range — about 40 nautical miles — pick up the signal, while satellite AIS provides global coverage with longer revisit times. Cargo-ship AIS data is widely used for trade-flow analysis, port congestion monitoring, demand forecasting, and CO₂ emissions reporting. Note that destination and ETA fields are entered manually by crew and can be inaccurate or outdated.
Major Cargo Trade Routes Worldwide
Global cargo flows concentrate on a handful of high-volume corridors. Container shipping is dominated by three trade lanes: Asia–Europe via the Suez Canal, transpacific between East Asia and North America, and transatlantic between Europe and North America. Top container hubs include Shanghai, Singapore, Ningbo-Zhoushan, Rotterdam, and Antwerp. Dry-bulk routes carry iron ore from Australia and Brazil to China, coal from Indonesia and Australia to East Asia, and grain from the U.S. Gulf and Black Sea to Asia and the Middle East. Major chokepoints include the Strait of Malacca (around one-third of global trade transits here), the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal (recently constrained by drought), Bab-el-Mandeb, and the Dover Strait. Disruptions at any of these chokepoints — drought, conflict, or accidents like the Ever Given grounding in 2021 — ripple through global supply chains within days.
Regulations Governing Cargo Vessels
Cargo vessels are subject to a dense web of international regulation. SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) covers construction, fire safety, life-saving equipment, and navigation. MARPOL governs pollution prevention, with Annex VI imposing the IMO 2020 global sulfur cap (0.5% sulfur in fuel) and EEXI/CII requirements for energy efficiency and carbon intensity. STCW sets minimum training and certification standards for crew. The ISM Code requires every operator to maintain an audited Safety Management System. Cargo ships are classed by IACS member societies (Lloyd's Register, DNV, ABS, ClassNK, BV, RINA) which verify structural integrity and equipment compliance. Port State Control inspections (Paris MOU, Tokyo MOU, USCG) detain non-compliant ships. Decarbonisation rules are tightening: the EU ETS now covers shipping emissions, and the IMO has set net-zero targets for 2050.