Vessel layers sub-menu

In the Map layers menu, you can use the Vessel layers sub-menu to customise how you visualise vessel tracks on your map.

Learn more: Shortcuts to speed up your analysis →

There are several categories to choose from when considering how to best visualise vessel tracks for different analytical needs. These include:

Some organisations may have additional vessel layers available which have been created for specific purposes and are not visible to other Starboard users. If your organisation has specific needs for bespoke vessel layers, contact the team to discuss the feasibility of integration: support@starboard.nz

Vessel tracks are the lines which trail points on the map, representing a vessel and their most recent movements. The length of the track lines correspond to the Time filter, with longer lines for longer periods of time. Sometimes these track lines can cause visual clutter on the map when longer timeframes and larger geographic areas are selected. You can remove the vessel tracks from the map by deselecting “vessel tracks” from the Vessel layers sub-menu.

Watch: See what it looks like when these vessel tracks are turned off

Vessel names appear above each vessel displayed on your map view, but only when zoomed in close enough for the name labels to be displayed without considerable overlap. You can turn the names on or off by selecting Vessel names in the Vessel layers sub-menu.

Event icons indicate points along a vessel’s track where notable activity has occurred. The Vessel tracks layer doesn’t need to be enabled to view event icons, but enabling it makes it easier to see which events correspond to each vessel track.

Each event icon matches the colour of its track segment, representing the approximate duration of the event.

To hide the icons but keep the coloured event tracks visible, deselect Event icons for selected vessels in the Vessel layers sub-menu.

When one or more vessels are selected on the map, you can apply a Speed layer to their tracks (note that the Vessel track layer must also be enabled). Once the Speed layer is selected, a legend appears in the bottom-right corner of the screen, showing the colour scale that corresponds to vessel speed.

The legend displays speeds in knots (kn) by default, but you can change the unit to kilometres per hour (km/h) in your Account settings.

While specific vessels are selected, you can display the individual AIS data points—shown as coloured dots representing different AIS data sources—by selecting AIS data points for selected vessels in the Vessel layers sub-menu.

Vessel track lines represent the interpolated path between individual AIS data points received from various sources. To investigate vessel activity in more detail, you can view the metadata behind each individual AIS transmission (“ping”) by clicking on the coloured data points while this layer is enabled.

Starboard lets you view AIS source points in either skimmed or full-resolution formats, depending on your analysis needs.

Skimmed AIS samples position reports at longer intervals (e.g. every 10 minutes instead of every few seconds), reducing data volume for faster processing across large fleets or regions. This is displayed by default, and is ideal for high-level monitoring, broad traffic analysis, and general situational awareness.

Full-resolution AIS includes every valid position report, enabling detailed analysis of fine-grained vessel movements—essential for focused investigations. This format requires more processing power and storage, and therefore Starboard limits the visualisation and download of full-resolution AIS to three selected vessels over seven days at a time.

In practice, most users will start with skimmed AIS to gain a broad overview, then switch to full-resolution AIS for vessels of particular concern. Having access to both views allows you to balance efficiency with analytical depth, and ensures you don’t miss important behavioral details.

The example below shows a fishing vessel setting a net in a circular motion—appearing distorted in skimmed mode, but fully represented in full-resolution AIS.

Try it out: Toggle and refresh the Full resolution AIS data for this vessel, to see how its track changes.

A MMSI is intended to be unique, but a vessel may have several MMSIs associated with it because Aids to Navigation (AtoN) can also have a MMSI assigned, which includes some fishing gear buoys.

Starboard isolates AtoN MMSI numbers according to the International Telecommunications Union numbering system, and assigns them a generic name–Buoys.

By default, buoys are hidden from the map, but can be added by checking the Buoys layer in the Vessel layers sub-menu. This will populate buoys on the map, including their relevant track lines.

Note that fishing buoys can sometimes be programmed (intentionally or unintentionally) by onboard crew using unregistered MMSI numbers that don’t conform with international standards, and this can result in buoys being incorrectly categorised as vessels in AIS platforms.