For the calculation of the data "AIS Vessel Traffic Density", the data of the Universal Shipborne Automatic Identification System (AIS) were evaluated with regard to various parameters and ship types under stochastic aspects. The data are requested once a year for the past year from the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). Among others, the information is collected and stored for the purpose of securing maritime traffic and is used for the manufacture of products produced for navigation by the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH). The data "AIS Vessel Traffic Density" represent the mean spatio-temporal density distribution of the ships. This is the average number of ships that have passed through a defined area (grid cell) in a certain period of time. The counting distinguishes between five types of vessels: fishing vessels, cargo vessels, tankers, passenger vessels and all vessels.

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https://gdi.bsh.de/en/data/Vessel-Traffic-Density_Dokumentation_Schiffsverkehrsdichte_DE.pdf