PredictWind provides several ways to view and use AIS data, both coastal and offshore.

AIS data is available through five different PredictWind platforms and services:

You can view thousands of AIS vessels using the PredictWind App or the PredictWind Website on a PC or Mac.

Free and Basic PredictWind subscriptions allow you to view AIS vessels received from terrestrial (land-based) AIS stations.

Standard and Professional subscriptions also provide access to satellite AIS and DataHub AIS vessels and allow you to save your favourite vessels.

From the main menu in the PredictWind App or Website, scroll down to Tools > AIS Data.

With a Professional PredictWind Forecast subscription, you can download AIS targets within a 300 nautical mile radius directly to the Offshore App. This includes both satellite and terrestrial AIS vessels.

This allows you to overlay AIS on any route plan, giving you time and opportunity to change course if needed and see other boats around your area. This is important for safety, collision avoidance at sea and knowing who is close by in an emergency.

Over the Horizon AIS (OHA) requires a DataHub or DataHub Pro and allows AIS targets up to 300 nautical miles away to be displayed directly on compatible chartplotters and navigation apps.

Traditional VHF AIS is limited by VHF range. Over the Horizon AIS supplements this by downloading AIS data from PredictWind over your onboard internet connection, giving you much earlier visibility of vessels that may be approaching your area.

To use Over the Horizon AIS, you need:

Some chartplotters limit the distance at which AIS targets can be displayed. For example, Garmin chartplotters may limit AIS display range to 75 nautical miles.

Note: Over the Horizon AIS does not work with the original Iridium GO! unit.

The AIS Explorer App, available for iPhone and iPad, allows you to view AIS vessel positions around the world using satellite and terrestrial AIS data.

You can search for vessels, view their position and movement, and explore commercial shipping routes, fishing fleets, yachts and other vessels transmitting AIS.

The free version allows you to view AIS vessels. AIS Explorer Pro provides additional features, including vessel favourites and enhanced AIS information.

If you have a Professional PredictWind Forecast subscription, AIS Explorer Pro is included at no additional cost. Simply sign in to the AIS Explorer App using your PredictWind account email and password.

If you have a DataHub or DataHub Pro and an AIS transceiver, you can contribute AIS data to PredictWind's network of AIS aggregators.

The DataHub collects AIS data received from vessels around you and sends this information to PredictWind using your onboard internet connection, such as Starlink, 4G/5G cellular or Iridium GO! exec. This helps improve the quality and safety of AIS data worldwide.

Your onboard navigation devices and apps can also continue to use the locally received AIS data.

Being a DataHub aggregator requires no subscription; our goal is to make the AIS system safer globally.

Note: Enabling this service may increase Internet usage and additional airtime fees. Airtime usage will increase by approximately 80 bytes times the number of targets in view divided by the sampling interval. If, for example, 10 AIS targets are in view and the default 110-second sampling is used, then the required bandwidth would approximately be 10*80/55 bytes/second or 0.01 kbps. For a month, this would equate to approximately 1MB. Bandwidth usage can be reduced further by increasing the sampling period.