How To Use ChatGPT To Track Ships in Real Time?
Tracking ships using ChatGPT is possible and an easy process when it is connected to a live maritime data source such as Datalastic.
On its own, ChatGPT does not maintain a live database of ship positions. It may know general information about vessels, shipping companies, ports, and maritime terminology, but it cannot simply know where a vessel is right now.
By connecting ChatGPT to Datalastic, you can use ChatGPT to track ships, check their latest positions, retrieve vessel information, and explore maritime data using normal questions such as:
Where is EVER GIVEN right now?
Find the current position of IMO 9811000.
What is this vessel’s speed and destination?
Show me vessels currently near Rotterdam.
You don’t need to write API requests or work with JSON. You can simply ask ChatGPT.
How Can You Use ChatGPT To Track Ships?
Ships equipped with AIS (Automatic Identification System) transmit information including their position, speed, course, navigation status, and other voyage information.
Datalastic collects and processes maritime data and makes it available through its maritime API.
To make this data easier to access through AI assistants, Datalastic also provides an official MCP server.
MCP stands for Model Context Protocol. In simple terms, it allows ChatGPT to connect to an external service and request information when it needs it.
The process looks like this:
You → ChatGPT → Datalastic → Live maritime data
For example, when you ask:
Where is EVER GIVEN right now?
ChatGPT can use Datalastic to identify the vessel, retrieve its latest available position, and present the result in a readable format.
This means you can use ChatGPT to track ships without manually searching vessel databases or constructing API requests.What Ship Information Can ChatGPT Find?
Once Datalastic is connected, you can ask questions naturally.
For example:
Find a vessel
Find the vessel EVER GIVEN.
Check its latest position
Where is EVER GIVEN right now?
Check its movement
What speed is it travelling at?
Check voyage information
What is its destination and ETA?
Search using an IMO number
Find IMO 9811000 and give me its latest position.
You can also continue the conversation without repeating everything.
For example:
Where is EVER GIVEN right now?
Then:
What is its destination?
And:
How fast is it moving?
ChatGPT keeps the context of the conversation while retrieving the maritime data it needs.
How To Use ChatGPT To Track Ships With Datalastic
The connection only needs to be configured once.
Step 1: Enable Developer Mode in ChatGPT
Open ChatGPT and go to:
Settings → Apps → Advanced Settings → Developer Mode
Enable Developer Mode.
Step 2: Connect Datalastic to ChatGPT
Go to the Apps section and choose Create App.
Enter:
Name: Datalastic
MCP server URL:
https://mcp.datalastic.com/mcp
Step 3: Sign In to Datalastic
ChatGPT will ask you to authenticate.
Sign in using your Datalastic account and authorize the connection.
There is no need to manually copy and paste your Datalastic API key when using the normal sign-in method.
Once connected, ChatGPT can access the maritime tools available through your Datalastic subscription.
TStep 4: Use ChatGPT To Track a Ship
Now you can start tracking.
Open a ChatGPT conversation and try:
Find EVER GIVEN and show me its latest position.
Or, if you know the IMO number:
Where is IMO 9811000 right now?
ChatGPT can use Datalastic to retrieve the latest available vessel information.
That’s it.
Example: Use ChatGPT To Track a Ship
Imagine you want to check the current location of a container ship.
Instead of opening a vessel database and searching manually, you could ask:
Find MSC IRINA and tell me where it is right now.
ChatGPT can use Datalastic to retrieve the vessel and its latest available position.
You can then continue the conversation:
What is its destination?
When is it expected to arrive?
What is its current speed?
Give me the coordinates.
This turns ChatGPT into a conversational interface for maritime data.
Do I Need To Know How To Code?
No.
That’s one of the main advantages when you use ChatGPT to track ships through Datalastic.
Datalastic can normally be accessed directly through an API. A traditional API integration might involve a request such as:
curl --request GET \ --url "https://api.datalastic.com/api/v0/vessel?imo=9811000" \ --header "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"The API returns structured vessel data that software can process.
You can also check our guide: How to Use Your Datalastic Vessel Tracking API Key?
Can You Use ChatGPT To Track Multiple Ships?
Yes.
You aren’t limited to asking about a single vessel.
Depending on the Datalastic tools and plan available to your account, you can ask ChatGPT questions involving multiple vessels or geographic areas.
For example:
Give me the latest positions of these five IMO numbers.
This can be particularly useful when investigating vessel activity without manually searching for every ship individually.
What Else Can ChatGPT Do With Maritime Data?
Using ChatGPT for ship tracking is only one possibility.
Once connected to Datalastic, you can use ChatGPT to explore different types of maritime information through normal conversation.
You can:
- Track ships and retrieve current vessel positions.
- Find vessels using names, IMO numbers, MMSI numbers, or other available details.
- Look up vessel characteristics and technical information.
- Investigate maritime companies and related information.
- Retrieve information about ports.
- Examine historical vessel movements and positions.
- Find vessels within a specific geographic area.
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