Shipping Lanes Screensaver
The Shipping Lanes screensaver animates container ships along the real great trade routes — Suez, Panama, Malacca and more — with their pace set by live sea conditions from the key-less Open-Meteo Marine API, alongside a real ranking of the world's busiest ports. It's free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.
How the Shipping Lanes screensaver works
Ships travel along real named trade-route geometry connecting the world's major ports.
Live wave height along each route, from Open-Meteo Marine, subtly slows ships through rougher seas.
A side panel lists the world's busiest container ports by real throughput ranking.
This is a routes-and-conditions view, not individual live vessel tracking — see the FAQ for why.
A worked example
Watch the Suez route and the ships crossing it slow slightly whenever the live Red Sea wave height ticks up — a real ocean signal steering the animation, not a random wobble.
Settings & tips
- Show top-ports panel toggles the ranking list.
- Accent recolours the ship trails.
- Route geometry is real-world based; ship count is illustrative.
Frequently asked questions
- Are these real individual ships?
- No — live per-vessel tracking (AIS) requires a paid feed. This animates real trade routes with live sea conditions steering the pace, plus a real port-throughput ranking.
- Is a key needed?
- No. The sea-state data is free and key-less.
- Where do the port rankings come from?
- Published container-throughput figures for the world's largest ports, refreshed periodically.
- Is it free?
- Yes — free, no download, in your browser.