Tools for a lazy shipspotter?

[T. van der Burgh]

Hi everyone,

Me and my family live near the river Maas in the vicinity of Rotterdam. I'm no shipspotter, my kids and I just find it fascinating to watch big or special ships passing by, especially as it's only a few minutes walk from our house to the river.

At the moment, all I can think of is keep check of any cruise calls in Rotterdam (https://www.cruiseportrotterdam.nl/cruise-calls/) and then on the moment of arrival/departure using a ship tracking website to see if the cruiseship is getting near.

I was wondering if there are any tools/apps/websites that could make our lives a bit easier?

For example, a tool/app/website where I would be able to mark an area on the map and where I would receive a notification whenever ships that meet certain criteria (for example a minimum length of X meters, a certain type of ship, etc.) enter that area?

Looking forward to your advice/suggestions, many thanks in advance!

[pieter melissen]

Hello

https://www.shipxplorer.com or Marine Traffic  in combination with the Rotterdam Port Authority info which you can find here

https://www.portofrotterdam.com/en/up-to-date-information/arrival-and-departures

will make life easier but still not perfect.

Marine Traffic does not show you the exact destination dock, and the RPA data are not always complete, but together they serve me each morning to see where and when it might be useful to shoot some ships. There is no info readily available about departure times.