We don't operate an AIS feed. Three Buoys is a tackle shop, not a vessel-traffic service — we don't have an AIS receiver or a licensed data feed, so we won't show you ship positions we can't actually see. The services below are the real thing: public AIS aggregators and the U.S. Coast Guard. Check them before you launch into a shipping channel.
Free public AIS services
MarineTraffic
The most widely used public AIS map. Pan to the C&D Canal or Delaware Bay for live commercial traffic.
VesselFinder
A second live AIS map — handy for cross-checking a ship's name, size, and heading.
U.S. Coast Guard AIS
The official source on how AIS works and what carriage is required — the authority behind the aggregators.
Staying clear of commercial traffic
A big ship can't stop or turn for you
A loaded ship in a narrow channel needs a mile or more to stop and is restricted to the dredged channel. In a small boat you are the give-way vessel in practice, whatever the rules say. Stay outside the channel markers where you can, and never anchor in the channel.
Monitor VHF and the real alerts
Ships and the C&D Canal traffic controllers work VHF — monitor Ch 13 (bridge-to-bridge) and Ch 16. For weather that would keep you off the water in the first place, use our real NWS marine alerts page, which reports the actual active advisories or says plainly when it can't reach the provider.