FAQ
Short answers to the questions people ask first. Longer answers are linked.
Is this legal?
Yes. VPM uses open AIS (AISStream, the Finnish Digitraffic network) and public datasets, with a paid feed as backup. It does not redistribute raw AIS or any provider's dataset — it sells derived decisions and estimates. Data-provider terms are chosen to permit exactly that. See Data & sources.
How accurate is it, really?
Next-port prediction is right about 77.9% of the time across the tested fleet, measured on a strict chronological back-test. That number is not uniform: when a vessel declares a destination it is much higher, when it doesn't it is much lower, and VPM shows which case you are looking at. The full breakdown, including where the model is weak, is in Accuracy & methodology.
Which regions does it cover?
The Baltic and North Sea are live. The engine is not region-specific — it works anywhere there is AIS coverage and shipping-lane data — but a port is only useful once enough of its traffic is tracked. See Coverage.
What does it cost?
Pricing is not published. It is structured per port and per capability layer. Get in touch with your port and use case.
How do I get access?
Contact us and we set you up with the view for your port. There is no self-service sign-up.
Do you resell my data, or the vessels' data?
No. VPM does not redistribute AIS positions or any provider's underlying data. The output is a prediction, a need estimate, a cost and a window — nothing that reconstructs the source feed.
Can I use it for just one port?
Yes — that is how it is sold. One port, one view.
What about vessels that have no clear pattern?
A vessel with no repeating route and no declared destination predicts poorly. VPM marks those as low-confidence rather than presenting a weak guess as a firm one, and shows each vessel's route concentration so you can see in advance which ones predict well. See Predicting the next port.
Does the fuel estimate replace a noon report?
No. It is an estimate, calibrated to real reported consumption and checked against vessels whose figures are known. It answers "roughly how much, roughly what it costs, roughly when they'll need more". See Fuel & cost model.