Marinetraffic MCP Server

MCP server for MarineTraffic vessel tracking

Local serverstdio

What is the Marinetraffic MCP server?

Marinetraffic MCP server exists for a simple reason — assistants are far more useful when they can act on Marinetraffic directly instead of describing what you should do. MCP server for MarineTraffic vessel tracking.

What you get

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides access to MarineTraffic vessel tracking data.

What the assistant can call

Once Marinetraffic is connected, these are the calls the assistant has available:

  • get_vessel_position — Get real-time position of a vessel by MMSI or IMO number
  • get_vessel_details — Get detailed information about a vessel by MMSI or IMO number
  • search_vessels — Search for vessels by name, MMSI, IMO, or vessel type
  • get_vessels_in_area — Get vessels in a specified geographic area
  • Tools — The Tools tool exposed by this server
  • Resources — The Resources tool exposed by this server
  • Prerequisites — The Prerequisites tool exposed by this server
  • Setup — 1. Clone this repository or download the source code 2. Install dependencies:

Configuration and credentials

You will need one environment variable: MARINETRAFFIC_API_KEY. The server will not start without them, which is usually why the tools fail to appear on a first run. Keep credentials in your client's env block or a secrets manager rather than in a file you might commit.

Setting it up

Installation goes through your MCP client rather than a global install: point it at @smithery/cli on npm and it is fetched when the client starts. The copy-paste blocks for Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor are further down this page.

Choosing this one

Among the developer tooling options, the useful question is rarely "what can it do" but "what does it cost you to run" — permissions, credentials, and how much of your context its toolset consumes. Marinetraffic's toolset — get_vessel_position, get_vessel_details, search_vessels and 5 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by Cyreslab-AI; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

SyncDev reviews every entry in this directory against the project's own documentation before publishing, and revisits them as servers change.

Before you rely on it

  • It runs with your machine's permissions. That is convenient and also the reason to think about what you point it at before you approve a tool call.
  • Missing credentials fail quietly in some clients — if no tools show up, check the environment block first.
  • MCP clients confirm each tool call by default. Leave that on until you have watched what the marinetraffic mcp server does with a few real requests.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
get_vessel_positionGet real-time position of a vessel by MMSI or IMO number
get_vessel_detailsGet detailed information about a vessel by MMSI or IMO number
search_vesselsSearch for vessels by name, MMSI, IMO, or vessel type
get_vessels_in_areaGet vessels in a specified geographic area
ToolsThe Tools tool exposed by this server.
ResourcesThe Resources tool exposed by this server.
PrerequisitesThe Prerequisites tool exposed by this server.
Setup1. Clone this repository or download the source code 2. Install dependencies:

How to install the Marinetraffic MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "marinetraffic": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/marinetraffic-server/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "MARINETRAFFIC_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      },
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

Configuration as documented by the project. Restart the client after saving.

Configuration

VariableDescriptionRequired
MARINETRAFFIC_API_KEYCredential the server authenticates with.Yes

Example prompts to try

  • Use Marinetraffic to get vessel position.
  • Use Marinetraffic to get vessel details.
  • Use Marinetraffic to search vessels.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Marinetraffic to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor, exposing 8 tools (get_vessel_position, get_vessel_details, search_vessels, and more) that the assistant can call on your behalf. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Marinetraffic directly.