IN Brief:
- NavFleet 2.7.1 introduces vessel-position streaming through NAVTOR's existing NavBox data infrastructure.
- Shore teams gain more frequent AIS positions, traffic context, additional map layers, and revised document sharing.
- The upgrade is available to monitoring subscribers; mobile-app access is scheduled for December 2026.
NAVTOR has introduced live Automatic Identification System (AIS) data streaming in version 2.7.1 of its NavFleet platform, giving shore-based fleet teams more frequent information about ship positions, speeds and headings. The Norwegian maritime technology company is using its existing NavBox equipment and vessel communications network to transfer the data, alongside additional operational map layers and document-sharing functions.
AIS equipment broadcasts a ship’s identification and navigational information, including its position, course and speed, at intervals that vary with its activity and the transmission conditions. The value of those observations to a remote fleet team also depends on how rapidly they reach the display. A vessel approaching a terminal or altering course may have moved considerably by the time an older position is retrieved. NavFleet’s upgrade concentrates on reducing that delay between a shipboard observation and a shore operator’s view.
NAVTOR says its streaming service can deliver position updates within seconds rather than relying on intervals of several minutes or longer. Its product information describes updates approximately every five to 40 seconds, compared with previous intervals of around 15 to 20 minutes. Those figures describe the company’s system capability and comparison, rather than a guarantee that every vessel will always update at the shortest interval across all trading areas.
NavBox is the onboard gateway NAVTOR uses for exchanging digital information between ships and shore. It can capture AIS messages, package them and forward them through a managed low-bandwidth communications network into NavFleet, where the position appears alongside other fleet information. NAVTOR says this architecture can provide frequent updates without requiring a separate high-frequency satellite AIS subscription for each monitored vessel. The release is therefore an addition to the existing ship-to-shore data path, supported by the company’s installed maritime technology infrastructure.
On the monitoring screen, speed, heading and position can be viewed alongside nearby traffic and marine infrastructure, allowing a shore team to follow a developing approach rather than rely on isolated position reports. That can help coordinate discussions about expected berth arrival or an emerging operational incident. Movement data becomes more useful when it is viewed with the route, port conditions and the status of nearby vessels. The platform provides information to fleet managers; passage execution and navigation remain the responsibility of the vessel’s bridge team.
The same software release introduces operational map layers for Important Mammal Migration Areas, Whale Conservation Zones, Polar Code Areas and IMO Special Areas, alongside Areas To Be Avoided. Those overlays allow a vessel’s reported position to be considered with additional geographical operating constraints. NAVTOR has also widened the document formats that users can upload, including spreadsheets, images and text files, supporting shared operational records in the fleet system. Documents sent to its separate NavStation product continue to require PDF format.
NAVTOR says its navigation and management services reach more than 18,000 vessels, giving it an established base of shipboard equipment and communications links. The streaming feature is included with NavFleet Monitoring subscriptions without an additional per-vessel charge, although near real-time positions are being introduced in phases. Customers should therefore see coverage expand as the rollout progresses rather than assume every vessel will show a five-second update immediately. The company describes a broader capability to monitor traffic beyond an operator’s own managed fleet.
Historical playback is being developed as a subsequent extension of the AIS stream. When released, it could allow an owner to reconstruct the movement of a ship during a port incident and compare its approach, speed and heading with other records, including weather information. NAVTOR has described contact with a jetty or crane as a possible investigation case. The current version supplies the live display and associated map layers; replay remains on the product roadmap, with no confirmed release date in the announcement.
A current-looking marker still depends on reception, transmission and the age of the underlying AIS message. More frequent data delivery reduces one source of delay, but weak reception or a communication interruption can leave an observation older than the display interval suggests. Consequently, fleet teams need to distinguish a ship’s last reported position from its actual position at the moment of viewing. NavFleet’s faster data feed is intended to improve shore-side operational awareness and communication, alongside the vessel’s established navigational procedures.
Version 2.7.1 is available as an automatic upgrade to existing NavFleet Monitoring subscribers. The wider platform already includes voyage tracking, port information, passage-plan management and digital logbooks, so the streaming capability joins tools used for planning, monitoring and sharing shipboard records. AIS streaming is scheduled to reach the NavFleet mobile application in December 2026. NAVTOR has identified future historical replay as another development, while the immediate change is quicker access to vessel movement information through the existing system.
