Is my vessel on AIS properly?
Enter your vessel’s MMSI number. You see right away whether your vessel shows up on AIS, when it was last seen and whether the key details come through.
Free, no account needed. The number is not stored.
Check your MMSI number
What the check shows
What does not reach our source does not show up here either. A gap says something about reception, not necessarily about your transponder.
Found or not
The check looks live at our AIS source for messages from this MMSI in the last 24 hours.
When last seen
How long ago the latest message came in. If that was a while ago, your AIS may be off, or reception may be poor where you are.
Rough position
Rounded to about 10 kilometres. Enough to see whether it is right, not enough to follow anyone.
Name and dimensions
Whether the vessel name, length and beam are transmitted. Under the Dutch BPR art. 4.07 they belong in your AIS, and must match your vessel or convoy.
What is an MMSI number?
MMSI stands for Maritime Mobile Service Identity. It is a 9-digit number that identifies your VHF radio and your AIS transponder. The first three digits show the country: 244, 245 or 246 for the Netherlands, 205 for Belgium and 211 or 218 for Germany.
In the Netherlands you get your MMSI when you register your VHF radio with the RDI (Dutch Authority for Digital Infrastructure). The ATIS number of your radio is something else: it has 10 digits and starts with a 9.
What is an ENI number?
The ENI is the European vessel identification number: 8 digits that stay with the vessel for life, even when owner, name or flag change. It is on your inland navigation vessel certificate. The first three digits show which country issued it.
The ENI belongs in your AIS (BPR art. 4.07(3)). Our source does not always pass the ENI on. If you see no ENI here, check your transponder settings to make sure it is filled in.
How to find your MMSI number
- On your AIS transponder or display, usually in the ‘Own ship’ menu with the static data.
- On the registration of your VHF radio.
- In your VHF radio’s menu, under the DSC or MMSI settings.
- Ask your installer: they entered the number when the system was installed.
The AIS requirement in inland shipping, in short
On a waterway of CEMT class I or higher, your vessel must have a working Inland AIS device (Dutch BPR art. 4.07(1)). Exceptions include most small craft, the vessels in a pushed or side-by-side convoy other than the one providing propulsion, and push barges and floating equipment without their own propulsion.
The device is switched on permanently, and what it transmits matches reality (paragraph 2). You may switch it off in a few cases, for instance when moored along a waterway of class II or lower.
You transmit at least your MMSI, name, vessel or convoy type, ENI, length and beam (to 0.1 m), position, speed, course and navigational status (paragraph 3). When the length or beam of your convoy, the convoy type or the navigational status changes, you update it right away (paragraph 4). On the Rhine, article 4.07 of the Rhine Police Regulations says the same.
Push barges without their own propulsion
Push barges without their own propulsion do not need AIS (BPR art. 4.07(1)(c)). So if you cannot find a push barge here, that is normal.
In a pushed or side-by-side convoy only the vessel providing propulsion transmits, with the length and beam of the whole convoy. The other vessels switch their AIS off while they are part of it.
Not found, or something missing? Check these
- Is the transponder on, and does it have power (fuse, switch)?
- Are the VHF and GPS antennas firmly attached, with no damaged cable?
- Is the right MMSI entered in the transponder? One wrong digit and you transmit under another number.
- Are name, ENI, type, length and beam filled in? On an Inland AIS these are often password-protected; your installer can change them.
- Are you in an area with few shore receivers? Try again later, when you are under way or somewhere else.
Questions about the MMSI check
Is my MMSI number stored?
No. The number is only used to look live at our AIS source. It does not go into a database and the vessel is not tracked. To spare the source we keep the answer in memory for a few minutes, then it is gone.
Why do I not see an ENI number?
Our AIS source does not always pass the ENI on. That does not mean it is missing. Check your transponder settings, or ask your installer.
My vessel shows on another site, but not here. Why?
AIS sites use different networks of shore receivers. What one site sees, another may just miss. Look at the time too: a position from yesterday does not mean your AIS works now.
How exact is the position?
Deliberately not exact: rounded to about 10 kilometres. You see whether your vessel is roughly where you expect, nothing more.
How often can I check?
You can check 3 times per 10 minutes and 10 times per day. That keeps the check fast and free for everyone. Want to follow your vessel every day? That is what BargeFlow Port Reporter is for.
Can I keep following my vessel like this?
That is what BargeFlow Port Reporter is for: your vessels live on the map, with port visits and sailing times. You can try it free for 60 days; you enter your payment details when you sign up.