Wikidata SPARQL endpoint
Port reference data — name, country, coordinates, type — is queried from query.wikidata.org, the public SPARQL endpoint of the Wikidata project. The standard query for ports of class "seaport" (Q44782) returns thousands of entities; PortWatch filters to those with both ISO 3166-1 country codes and valid coordinate locations. Wikidata content is published under CC0, which permits unrestricted re-use including commercial use.
Where the Wikidata endpoint is unavailable at build time, the directory falls back to an embedded snapshot of port reference data sourced from the same upstream values. The current build of this site uses the fallback source, with 277 ports and 320 vessels in the dataset.
UN/LOCODE registry
The United Nations Code for Trade and Transport Locations (UN/LOCODE) is maintained by the UNECE and republished twice a year. PortWatch uses the registry as the authoritative source of port identifiers — the five-character country-and-port code that anchors every port profile. The registry is accessible at unece.org and is published under terms that permit redistribution with attribution.
Public AIS feeds
Vessel position, course, speed, status, declared destination and ETA are derived from publicly broadcast AIS data. AIS broadcasts are made over the maritime VHF band on channels 87B and 88B at standardised intervals defined by ITU-R M.1371 and are received by terrestrial coastal stations and satellite constellations. PortWatch ingests aggregated public AIS data; commercial real-time feeds and historical voyage replay are not used. A technical overview of AIS is published by the U.S. Coast Guard at navcen.uscg.gov.
IMO and Equasis
Vessel static particulars â name, IMO number, type, dimensions, gross and deadweight tonnage, build year â are referenced against the IMO’s public records and against the inter-governmental Equasis database. Equasis aggregates ship data from classification societies, port state control regimes, and P&I clubs and is free to access for individuals after registration.
UNCTAD reference statistics
For aggregate national maritime statistics — total port throughput, fleet ownership by flag, container traffic by region — PortWatch references the annual UNCTAD Review of Maritime Transport. UNCTAD publications are released under CC BY-NC-SA terms.
Licensing and attribution
PortWatch republishes data from each upstream source under the terms of that source’s licence. Wikidata content is CC0; UN/LOCODE is published under attribution terms; Equasis data is for reference and may not be bulk redistributed; UNCTAD figures are CC BY-NC-SA. PortWatch’s own derived material â paragraph copy, layout, and the directory’s URL structure â is offered for non-commercial reference use; please contact us for redistribution permissions.