Ships over a certain size and capacity are required to have beacons that transmit the ship identification and position. This is called the AIS (Automated Identification System) and a group from the University of the Aegean in Greece is collecting this data and putting it onto a Google Map with a realtime display (default update frequency is 100 seconds).
Check out the Live Ships Map at Marine Traffic.
Posted by DaveH at November 9, 2009 07:12 PM | TrackBackThat is really a fascinating bit of watching! Very cool.
Posted by: Nate at November 10, 2009 09:04 PMNeat!
The Gulf of Mexico is awfully empty right now, though...
MC
Posted by: mostly cajun at November 10, 2009 07:15 AM