AIS ETA and VTS-Style Track Labels Added to KlaipėdaTraffic
KlaipėdaTraffic has added two small but useful improvements to the live AIS map for Klaipėda Port: AIS-reported ETA information and movable VTS-style track labels.
Both features are designed to improve situational awareness while keeping the live vessel traffic picture clean and easy to read.
AIS-reported ETA
Where available in the received AIS data, the vessel information popup can now display the vessel's reported ETA - Estimated Time of Arrival.
Destination KLAIPEDA ETA 09-10 18:30
This is important: KlaipėdaTraffic does not calculate this ETA from vessel speed or distance.
The ETA value is taken directly from the vessel's AIS information. If no usable ETA has been transmitted, KlaipėdaTraffic simply does not display an ETA line.
This follows the same principle used elsewhere on the platform: show the information that is actually available without inventing missing values.
Movable VTS-style track labels
A more visible change is the new 📌 Track label function.
From the vessel information popup, a user can create a compact target label containing the vessel name and key motion information:
MSC SHANNON III HDG 184° COG 181° SOG 7.4 kn
The label shows heading (HDG), course over ground (COG) and speed over ground (SOG).
It initially appears beside the AIS target, but unlike a normal vessel-name label it is not fixed to the vessel symbol. The information block can be moved to any convenient position on the map.
A leader line continues to connect the label with the corresponding AIS target, while the information inside the label updates as new AIS data is received.
This allows several vessels to be monitored at the same time without covering the traffic area with overlapping text.
The presentation follows the same general idea as movable target information blocks commonly used on VTS and radar-based traffic monitoring displays, where labels can be positioned around the traffic picture while maintaining a clear visual connection to the tracked target.
Keeping the traffic picture clean
This was the main reason for using movable labels rather than permanently attaching HDG, COG and SOG information to every AIS vessel.
In a busy port environment, automatically displaying several lines of information next to every target would quickly make the map difficult to read.
With the new Track Label function, detailed motion information is shown only for the vessels the user chooses to follow.
The result is a cleaner AIS traffic picture while still allowing several important vessels to remain under closer observation.
Small changes, but useful in practice
Neither improvement changes the underlying AIS tracking system.
The ETA is additional information already available from AIS when transmitted, while the Track Label uses the existing live vessel position, heading, course and speed data already processed by KlaipėdaTraffic.
No additional navigation calculation is involved.
Together, however, these two additions make the live map more useful for observing vessel movements in Klaipėda Port and its approaches, particularly when following several vessels during arrival, departure or manoeuvring situations.
KlaipėdaTraffic is an experimental maritime situational-awareness and AIS monitoring platform. It is not intended for navigation and does not replace official navigational equipment, radar, VTS information or professional judgement.