Free vessel tracking for seafarers

Compared on 9 November 2026

A seafarer usually wants one thing from a tracking site: where is she and where was she last. Here is what the free level of each service gives.

Service	Free level	Past track when free	Beyond the map
Gangway AIS	The live chart, free to look at with no account. Vessels far offshore appear when a receiver hears them. Not as a worldwide satellite service. Strongest in Europe.	The last 24 hours, with replay and her latest call.	On Gangway for Seafarers you can add your vessel and crew and keep in touch with the people you sailed with. Free, iPhone first, in testing.
VesselFinder	Free plan, terrestrial coverage, with advertising.1 2	1 day.3	My Fleet up to 10 vessels.2
ShipFinder	Basic is free, with registration. One free satellite vessel to claim.4 5	3 days.6	Not checked.
vesseltracker	Community account with terrestrial AIS for passenger vessels only.7	Not checked.	Photos and news shared with the community.8

Where they are stronger

Past track when free: ShipFinder lists 3 days and VesselFinder 1 day. Ours is the last 24 hours.6 3
Open ocean: ShipFinder offers one free satellite vessel. On our free chart vessels far offshore appear when a receiver hears them.5

Where Gangway AIS fits

No account needed to look at the chart.
A place for your vessel and crew on Gangway for Seafarers.
One line in your receiver's settings sends its data to Gangway AIS and your station gets its own page and coverage map.

AIS data can be late, missing or wrong. Not for navigation. Join free at gangway.app.

See the live chart · Read the docs · See the plans

Sources, each read on 9 November 2026

VesselFinder: vesselfinder.com/get-premium
VesselFinder: vesselfinder.com/get-premium
VesselFinder: vesselfinder.com/get-premium
ShipFinder: shipfinder.com/home/plans_pricing
ShipFinder: shipfinder.com/
ShipFinder: shipfinder.com/home/plans_pricing
vesseltracker: vesseltracker.com/en/products/onlineAccounts.html
vesseltracker: vesseltracker.com/en/products/onlineAccounts.html

Each line about a company comes from its own public page on the date above and can change. "Not read" means we did not read that detail, "not published" that the page read gives no amount. Names belong to their owners. If a line is out of date write to desk@gangwayais.com and we will check it.