API to Track a Chemical Tanker

API to Track a Chemical Tanker

You need to track a chemical tanker with live AIS, predict arrival windows, and feed reliable updates into your transportation workflows (fleet dashboards, port ops, ESG reports). By the end of this guide you’ll query a live chemical tanker track, enrich it with route/ETA, scale to fleets, and fetch compliant IMO CII metrics—using one key, one base URL, and consistent JSON across endpoints.

What developers get for chemical tanker tracking

vessels-api.com provides 18 REST endpoints spanning vessel search, live AIS tracking, fleet operations, port intelligence, IMO CII emissions scoring, and a premium real-time AIS feed—all behind a single API key and base URL. Responses use a consistent JSON envelope so you can parse once and reuse everywhere.

Illustration: API to Track a Chemical Tanker
  • Base URL: https://vessels-api.com/api/V1
  • Authentication: X-API-Key header (no OAuth)
  • Response envelope: {status, success, message, data}
  • Coverage: global AIS with near real-time refresh
  • Target users: developers, logistics startups, fleet managers, port operators, ESG/compliance teams

In this post we’ll focus on the endpoints that matter for chemical tankers:

  • /vessels/track — live position, history, route, predicted ETA, weather
  • /vessels/search — resolve a name/IMO to an MMSI you can track
  • /vessels/fleet — batch tracking for multiple tankers in one call
  • /vessels/green — IMO CII emissions scoring
  • /ports/... — congestion snapshots and expected arrivals

Live tracking for a chemical tanker

To wire up a chemical tanker in a transportation dashboard, start with /vessels/track. You can request the current position plus up to 168 hours of history. Include route or ETA predictions as needed.

Official sample: live track by MMSI (48-hour window)

Copy/paste this exact curl. It uses the documented MMSI 258785000 and returns a JSON envelope with position, route, and port calls.

curl -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" "https://vessels-api.com/api/V1/vessels/track?mmsi=258785000&hours=48"
{
"status": 200,
"success": true,
"message": "OK",
"data": {
"vessel": {
"imo": "9122556",
"mmsi": "258785000",
"name": null
},
"current_position": {
"latitude": 53.33708,
"longitude": 7.17993,
"speed_knots": 0,
"course_degrees": 212,
"heading_degrees": null,
"navigational_status": 5,
"timestamp_utc": "2017-01-24T04:07:04+00:00",
"age_minutes": 5121921,
"destination": null,
"eta": null
},
"predicted_eta": null,
"position_history": [],
"route": {
"departure_port": "HERACLIO",
"departure_time": "2026-04-27T21:35:36+00:00",
"destination_port": "HERACLIO",
"eta": "2026-04-30T09:00:00+00:00",
"distance_nm": null,
"avg_speed_knots": 17.1
},
"last_port_visits": [
{
"port_id": "156",
"port_name": "EMDEN",
"arrival_time": "2026-07-30T13:00:10+00:00",
"departure_time": null,
"duration_hours": null
},
{
"port_id": "10",
"port_name": "HERACLIO",
"arrival_time": "2026-04-20T12:00:00+00:00",
"departure_time": "2026-04-23T08:00:00+00:00",
"duration_hours": 68
}
],
"weather": null
}
}

Field notes you’ll actually use:

  • current_position.latitude/longitude — degrees (WGS84). Plot directly on your map.
  • speed_knots, course_degrees — speed over ground in knots, course in degrees.
  • timestamp_utc — ISO 8601 UTC. Cache with this timestamp to avoid stale updates.
  • route.departure_port, route.destination_port, route.eta — drive logistics ETLs and port ops alerts.
  • last_port_visits — useful for compliance checks and post-voyage analytics.

Tip: timestamps are UTC; distance and speed units are nautical (nm, knots). When you render ETAs, keep them in UTC in your storage layer and localize at the edge/UI.

From name/IMO to trackable MMSI

Many transportation stacks start with an IMO or fuzzy vessel name from a booking system. Use /vessels/search to resolve to a unique IMO/MMSI pair and filter to chemical tankers if needed.

Response (structure excerpt):

Use the returned mmsi for high-frequency tracking via /vessels/track. The pagination block lets you iterate pages with per_page up to 100.

Route- and ETA-aware logistics for hazardous cargo

Chemical tanker arrivals drive berth planning, survey teams, and cargo handling windows. The /vessels/track endpoint supports useful toggles for these workflows:

  • hours — position history window (default 24, max 168)
  • include_route — include current voyage route block
  • include_predicted_eta — include model-based predicted ETA
  • include_weather — add metocean context near the vessel

Example with toggles:

Implementation detail: if your workflow only needs a route update every 15–30 minutes, cache route and predicted ETA separately from positions. Positions may refresh more frequently; route legs change less often.

Fleet operations: track multiple chemical tankers in one request

When you’re coordinating multiple cargoes across a trading desk or operations center, batch queries reduce overhead. Use POST /vessels/fleet with a vessel list. You can mix IMO and MMSI identifiers.

Response structure (excerpt):

Practical use: fan out per-vessel updates into your message bus (e.g., map tiles, ETA alerts, berth conflict detection) from a single call. Store timestamp_utc as your source-of-truth for event ordering.

ESG and compliance: IMO CII for chemical tankers

Chemical cargoes are tightly regulated. For ESG reporting and internal monitoring, query IMO CII scoring via /vessels/green. Ratings follow IMO MEPC.339(76), with A (best) through E (worst).

Response (excerpt):

Implementation details:

  • Store both co2_tons and co2_per_nm to normalize across differing voyage lengths.
  • Use period to align reporting windows (24h, 7d, 30d, 1y).
  • Combine with /vessels/analytics to correlate emissions with distance, speed, and port time.

Port intelligence around hazardous operations

Chemical tankers often berth at specialized terminals with stricter safety windows. Blend port-wide signals for better planning.

  • Congestion: GET /ports/congestion?port_id=ARBUE&period=7d — real-time snapshot and wait-time statistics. Use only UNLOCODE listed in the title parentheses (e.g., ARBUE).
  • Expected Arrivals: GET /port/expected-arrivals?port=ARBUE — upcoming vessels with ETA and origin.
  • Activity feed: GET /port/activity?port=ARBUE — recent arrivals/departures for your event pipeline.

Examples:

Tip: do not hardcode wait times. Poll at your operational cadence and cache port snapshots separately from vessel positions.

Analytics to summarize chemical tanker voyages

Use /vessels/analytics to summarize recent operations, switchable by type:

  • type=vessel with mmsi/imo — distances, speeds, and port calls over 24h, 7d, 30d, or 90d.
  • type=port with port_id — summarize activity at a given port.
  • type=fleet with mmsi_list — roll-up metrics across your tankers.

Map these statistics to SLA dashboards and run variance alerts (e.g., spike in total_time_in_port_hours when congestion rises).

Code: integrate live tracking in Python

The snippet below calls the official track sample, parses the JSON envelope, and extracts the coordinates, course, and ETA for your transportation workflow. Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your key, keep UTC, and propagate fields to your bus.

import requests
from datetime import datetime, timezone

API_KEY = "YOUR_API_KEY"
URL = "https://vessels-api.com/api/V1/vessels/track"
params = {
"mmsi": "258785000",
"hours": "48"
}
headers = {"X-API-Key": API_KEY}

resp = requests.get(URL, headers=headers, params=params, timeout=20)
resp.raise_for_status()
payload = resp.json()

if not payload.get("success"):
raise RuntimeError(f"API error: {payload.get('message')}")

data = payload["data"]
vessel = data["vessel"]
pos = data["current_position"]
route = data.get("route") or {}
pred_eta = data.get("predicted_eta")

print(f"IMO: {vessel.get('imo')} MMSI: {vessel.get('mmsi')}")
print(f"Lat/Lon: {pos['latitude']}, {pos['longitude']} Speed(kn): {pos['speed_knots']} Course: {pos['course_degrees']}")
print(f"Timestamp (UTC): {pos['timestamp_utc']} NavStatus: {pos['navigational_status']}")
if route:
print(f"Voyage: {route.get('departure_port')} -> {route.get('destination_port')} ETA: {route.get('eta')}")
if pred_eta:
print(f"Predicted ETA: {pred_eta}")

Code: JavaScript fetch for a web dashboard

This browser/node example fetches the same vessel, then normalizes UTC to a Date object and sends coordinates to your map widget.

async function fetchChemicalTanker() {
const url = "https://vessels-api.com/api/V1/vessels/track?mmsi=258785000&hours=48";
const res = await fetch(url, {
headers: { "X-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY" }
});
if (!res.ok) throw new Error("HTTP " + res.status);
const payload = await res.json();
if (!payload.success) throw new Error(payload.message);

const data = payload.data;
const { vessel, current_position, route } = data;

const ts = new Date(current_position.timestamp_utc); // UTC ISO 8601
const point = {
lat: current_position.latitude,
lon: current_position.longitude,
speed: current_position.speed_knots,
course: current_position.course_degrees,
time: ts
};

console.log("Track:", vessel.mmsi, point);
if (route) {
console.log("Route:", route.departure_port, "->", route.destination_port, "ETA:", route.eta);
}
}

fetchChemicalTanker().catch(console.error);

Implementation notes that save time

  • Auth: send X-API-Key on every request. There are no per-endpoint auth differences.
  • Units: speed_knots (knots), distance_nm (nautical miles), timestamps in UTC ISO 8601.
  • Caching: cache route, predicted_eta, and port snapshots longer than positions. Key your cache by MMSI + timestamp_utc.
  • Pagination: search responses include pagination with per_page up to 100.
  • Error handling: use HTTP status and the envelope. Common: 400 invalid param, 401 missing/invalid key, 404 not found, 422 out of range, 429 rate limit exceeded, 500 server error.
  • History windows: hours max is 168 for /vessels/track. For multi-day analytics, use /vessels/analytics.
  • Fleet scaling: prefer /vessels/fleet for batch updates to reduce connection overhead. Mix IMO and MMSI freely.

How chemical tanker teams use these endpoints together

  • Transportation dashboards: resolve tanker by name with /vessels/search, track live via /vessels/track, fan out events to UI and SMS.
  • Berth planning: poll /vessels/track with include_route and include_predicted_eta, cross-check port congestion snapshots.
  • Risk and compliance: use /vessels/green for CII, pair with /vessels/analytics to understand drivers.
  • Fleet operations: consolidate multiple chemical tankers via /vessels/fleet every N minutes; alert on off-schedule arrivals or prolonged anchorage.

Explore tools, docs, and control-plane

Use the following resources to continue:

FAQ

How often do positions update?
Positions are sourced from AIS with near real-time refresh rates. Use the current_position.timestamp_utc field to determine freshness and cache accordingly.

Should I track by IMO or MMSI?
Both are supported. For high-frequency position tracking, MMSI is preferred. Use /vessels/search to resolve a name/IMO to MMSI.

Can I get position history beyond 24 hours?
Yes. Pass hours up to 168 in /vessels/track. For aggregate metrics beyond that window, use /vessels/analytics.

How do I monitor emissions for ESG?
Call /vessels/green with period set to 24h, 7d, 30d, or 1y. Store cii.rating and estimated_emissions for your compliance reports.

What happens on errors or throttling?
Check HTTP status and the response envelope. For 429, back off and retry with jitter. For 4xx parameter issues, validate inputs (e.g., hours range, required IDs).

Next step

Wire up your first chemical tanker track, add route/ETA, and expand to a fleet view and CII scoring. Start with the official sample above, then build out with the endpoints in the Documentation. When you’re ready to deploy, get your key at Register and manage access via the MCP.

Keywords
API development chemical tanker tracking live AIS integration transportation workflows fleet management solutions

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