AISStream website screenshot

AISStream

AISStream.io is a free service that streams global real-time AIS (Automatic Identification System) vessel-tracking data over a WebSocket. Clients register for a free API key, open a secure WebSocket to "wss://stream.aisstream.io/v0/stream", and send a JSON subscription message declaring one or more geographic bounding boxes plus optional MMSI and message-type filters. The server then pushes a continuous stream of AIS messages - PositionReport, ShipStaticData, and the full set of ITU-R M.1371 message types - each wrapped in an envelope carrying MessageType, MetaData, and the decoded Message. There is no REST API; the service is WebSocket-only.

AISStream publishes 1 API on the APIs.io network: AIS Stream API. Tagged areas include Vessel Tracking, AIS, Maritime, Ship Tracking, and Real-Time Data.

The AISStream catalog on APIs.io includes 1 event-driven AsyncAPI specification and 1 Spectral governance ruleset.

AISStream’s developer surface includes authentication, documentation, and 6 more developer resources.

🌐 Visit website 📡 Source on GitHub
34.9/100 thin ▬ flat Agent 28/100 agent aware Full breakdown ↓
scored 2026-08-20 · rubric v0.12.0
AccessFreeSelf serve⚡ Free to try
1 APIs
Vessel TrackingAISMaritimeShip TrackingReal-Time DataWebSocketStreamingShipsMaritime DataLocation

Kin Score

Kin Score Kin Score How this is scored →
scored 2026-08-20 · rubric v0.12.0
Composite quality — 34.9/100 · thin
Contract Quality 12.2 / 25
Developer Ergonomics 4.3 / 20
Access Clarity 5.8 / 20
Operational Transparency 4.4 / 13
Contract Governance 1.4 / 12
Discoverability 6.9 / 10
Agent readiness — 28/100 · agent aware
Machine-Readable Contract 18 / 18
Agentic Access Contract 0 / 10
Documented Reversibility 0 / 6
MCP Server 0 / 12
Machine-Readable Auth 10 / 10
Idempotency 0 / 9
Stable Error Semantics 0 / 8
Request/Response Examples 0 / 7
Rate-Limit Signaling 7 / 7
Typed Event Surface 6 / 6
Agent Skills 0 / 5
Well-Known Catalog 0 / 4
Consent & Bot Identity 0 / 3
A2A Agent Card 0 / 8
Dry-Run / Simulate Mode 0 / 4
Improve this rating by publishing the missing artifacts — every area above can be raised, and the full rubric is at apis.io/rating/. This rating is computed from github.com/api-evangelist/aisstream: open an issue to ask a question, or submit a pull request to add artifacts. Want it done for you? Prioritized profiling — $2,500 →

APIs 1

Individual APIs this provider publishes, each with its own machine-readable definition.

AISStream AIS Stream API

Real-time global AIS vessel-tracking stream delivered over a single WebSocket at "wss://stream.aisstream.io/v0/stream". The client connects, sends a JSON subscription message (A...

Open Collections 1

Open, tool-agnostic API collections (OpenAPI-derived and Bruno).

AISStream AIS Stream API (WebSocket)

OPEN COLLECTION

Pricing Plans 1

Published pricing tiers and plan structures.

Aisstream Plans Pricing

1 plans

PLANS

Rate Limits 1

Documented rate limits and quota policies.

Aisstream Rate Limits

3 limits

RATE LIMITS

FinOps 1

Cost, billing, and metering signals for API financial operations.

Aisstream Finops

FINOPS

Event Specifications 1

AsyncAPI definitions for this provider's event-driven and streaming APIs.

AISStream Real-Time AIS Stream (WebSocket)

AsyncAPI 2.6 description of **AISStream.io**, a free service that streams global real-time AIS (Automatic Identification System) vessel-tracking data over a **WebSocket**. This ...

ASYNCAPI

Spectral Rules 1

Spectral governance rulesets for linting and validating these APIs.

AISStream API Rules

5 rules · 1 errors 4 warnings

SPECTRAL

Security Posture 2

Authentication, domain security, vulnerability disclosure, and trust-center signals.

Aisstream Authentication

apiKey · 1 scheme

SECURITY

Aisstream Domain Security

TLSv1.3 · DMARC

SECURITY

Resources

Documentation 1

Reference material describing how the API behaves

Documentation
Documentation

Build 1

SDKs, sample code, and the tooling you integrate with

GitHubOrganization
GitHubOrganization

Access & Security 2

Authentication, authorization, and security posture

DomainSecurity
DomainSecurity
 Authentication
Authentication

Operate 1

Status, limits, changes, and where to get help

RateLimits
RateLimits

Commercial 2

Pricing, plans, and the legal terms of use

Plans
Plans
 FinOps
FinOps

Company 1

The organization behind the API

Website
Website

Source (apis.yml)

apis.yml Raw ↑ 
aid: aisstream
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/aisstream/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
name: AISStream
kind: company
description: AISStream.io is a free service that streams global real-time AIS (Automatic Identification System) vessel-tracking
  data over a WebSocket. Clients register for a free API key, open a secure WebSocket to "wss://stream.aisstream.io/v0/stream",
  and send a JSON subscription message declaring one or more geographic bounding boxes plus optional MMSI and message-type
  filters. The server then pushes a continuous stream of AIS messages - PositionReport, ShipStaticData, and the full set of
  ITU-R M.1371 message types - each wrapped in an envelope carrying MessageType, MetaData, and the decoded Message. There
  is no REST API; the service is WebSocket-only.
accessModel:
  pricing: free
  onboarding: self-serve
  trial: false
  try_now: true
  public: false
  label: Free · Self-serve signup
  confidence: high
  source:
  - plans
  - authentication
  generated: '2026-07-22'
  method: derived
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/icons/aisstream.png
tags:
- Vessel Tracking
- AIS
- Maritime
- Ship Tracking
- Real-Time Data
- WebSocket
- Streaming
- Ships
- Maritime Data
- Location
created: '2026-07-12'
modified: '2026-07-12'
specificationVersion: '0.23'
apis:
- aid: aisstream:aisstream-ais-stream-api
  name: AISStream AIS Stream API
  tags:
  - AIS
  - Vessel Tracking
  - WebSocket
  - Streaming
  - Real-Time Data
  image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
  humanURL: https://aisstream.io/documentation
  baseURL: wss://stream.aisstream.io/v0/stream
  properties:
  - url: https://aisstream.io/documentation
    type: Documentation
  - url: https://aisstream.io/documentation
    type: APIReference
  - url: asyncapi/aisstream-asyncapi.yml
    type: AsyncAPI
  - url: collections/aisstream.postman_collection.json
    type: PostmanCollection
  - url: collections/aisstream.opencollection.json
    type: OpenCollection
  - url: https://github.com/aisstream/ais-message-models
    type: SourceCode
  - url: https://github.com/aisstream/example
    type: SDK
  description: Real-time global AIS vessel-tracking stream delivered over a single WebSocket at "wss://stream.aisstream.io/v0/stream".
    The client connects, sends a JSON subscription message (APIKey plus BoundingBoxes and optional FiltersShipMMSI and FilterMessageTypes),
    and receives a continuous feed of AIS messages - each an envelope with MessageType, a free-form MetaData object, and the
    decoded Message keyed by its type (PositionReport, ShipStaticData, and the rest of the ITU-R M.1371 message set).
common:
- type: DomainSecurity
  url: security/aisstream-domain-security.yml
- type: Authentication
  url: authentication/aisstream-authentication.yml
- type: GitHubOrganization
  url: https://github.com/aisstream
- type: Website
  url: https://aisstream.io
- type: Documentation
  url: https://aisstream.io/documentation
- type: Plans
  url: plans/aisstream-plans-pricing.yml
- type: RateLimits
  url: rate-limits/aisstream-rate-limits.yml
- type: FinOps
  url: finops/aisstream-finops.yml
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com