AIS codes · Ship and cargo type
AIS ship type codes, 0 to 99
The ship-and-cargo type is one number in a vessel’s static AIS report. The tens digit is the family; in most families the units digit is a hazardous-cargo declaration. Every code has its own page — pick one.
Tens digitx0x1x2x3x4x5x6x7x8x9
0xNot available / reserved0Not available1Reserved for future use2Reserved for future use3Reserved for future use4Reserved for future use5Reserved for future use6Reserved for future use7Reserved for future use8Reserved for future use9Reserved for future use
1xReserved for future use10Reserved for future use11Reserved for future use12Reserved for future use13Reserved for future use14Reserved for future use15Reserved for future use16Reserved for future use17Reserved for future use18Reserved for future use19Reserved for future use
2xWing-in-ground (WIG) craft20Wing-in-ground (WIG) craft21Wing-in-ground (WIG) craft, hazardous category A22Wing-in-ground (WIG) craft, hazardous category B23Wing-in-ground (WIG) craft, hazardous category C24Wing-in-ground (WIG) craft, hazardous category D25Wing-in-ground (WIG) craft, reserved26Wing-in-ground (WIG) craft, reserved27Wing-in-ground (WIG) craft, reserved28Wing-in-ground (WIG) craft, reserved29Wing-in-ground (WIG) craft, no additional information
3xSpecial activities30Fishing31Towing32Towing, length of the tow exceeds 200 m or breadth exceeds 25 m33Dredging or underwater operations34Diving operations35Military operations36Sailing37Pleasure craft38Reserved for future use39Reserved for future use
4xHigh-speed craft (HSC)40High-speed craft41High-speed craft, hazardous category A42High-speed craft, hazardous category B43High-speed craft, hazardous category C44High-speed craft, hazardous category D45High-speed craft, reserved46High-speed craft, reserved47High-speed craft, reserved48High-speed craft, reserved49High-speed craft, no additional information
5xSpecial craft50Pilot vessel51Search and rescue vessel52Tug53Port tender54Anti-pollution equipment55Law enforcement56Spare — local vessel57Spare — local vessel58Medical transport59Noncombatant ship (RR Resolution No. 18)
6xPassenger ships60Passenger ship61Passenger ship, hazardous category A62Passenger ship, hazardous category B63Passenger ship, hazardous category C64Passenger ship, hazardous category D65Passenger ship, reserved66Passenger ship, reserved67Passenger ship, reserved68Passenger ship, reserved69Passenger ship, no additional information
7xCargo ships70Cargo ship71Cargo ship, hazardous category A72Cargo ship, hazardous category B73Cargo ship, hazardous category C74Cargo ship, hazardous category D75Cargo ship, reserved76Cargo ship, reserved77Cargo ship, reserved78Cargo ship, reserved79Cargo ship, no additional information
- Cargo
- Tanker
- Passenger
- Fishing
- Tug & tow
- Pleasure craft
- Sailing
- High-speed craft
- Service
- Military
- Other
- Unknown
- Reserved — no meaning assigned
Families
How the hundred codes are organised
0Not availableZero is the default the field holds until someone programs a type into the transponder. It is the absence of a value, not a category of vessel.1–19Reserved for future useCodes 1 to 19 have no assigned meaning in the standard. They are held back for future use, so no correctly configured transponder should send one.20–29Wing-in-ground (WIG) craftWing-in-ground craft fly a few metres above the surface on the cushion of air trapped between a wing and the water. They are rare in service. Because the craft are rare, a 2x code on what is plainly an ordinary hull is worth reading as a likely configuration error rather than as a WIG craft.30–39Special activitiesThe 30s break the family-plus-qualifier pattern. Each code is its own meaning and describes what the vessel does — fishing, towing, dredging, diving, military operations, sailing, pleasure — rather than a hull family with a cargo declaration.40–49High-speed craft (HSC)High-speed craft are the fast ferries, catamarans, hydrofoils and similar vessels built to the IMO High-Speed Craft Code. On a live plot they are the ones covering ground noticeably faster than the ships around them.50–59Special craftThe 50s also break the pattern. Each code names a role — pilot boat, search and rescue, tug, port tender, pollution response, law enforcement, medical transport — and the units digit is part of that name, not a cargo qualifier.60–69Passenger shipsShips carrying passengers: ferries, ro-pax, cruise ships and smaller passenger vessels. AIS gives all of them the same family, so a harbour ferry and a large cruise ship can both report 60; the dimensions fields, not the type code, tell them apart.70–79Cargo shipsDry cargo ships of every kind. AIS does not distinguish a container ship from a bulk carrier, a general cargo ship or a car carrier — all of them are 7x. Any site that labels a vessel "container ship" from AIS alone is taking that from another source.80–89TankersLiquid bulk carriers: crude oil, refined product, chemical and gas tankers all share the 8x family. The units digit, where it is used, is the operator’s declaration about hazardous cargo, not the tanker’s design.90–99Other typeThe catch-all family for vessels that fit none of the specific ones. The code says the operator did not pick a more specific family; it says nothing more about what the vessel is.
Full table
Every code, with what we can hear right now
Codes are defined in ITU-R M.1371. The type is typed into the transponder by the operator and is not verified by anyone. For the structure in one read, see AIS ship type codes explained; for the vessels themselves, browse ship types.