AIS ship and cargo type · High-speed craft (HSC)
AIS ship type 40: High-speed craft
Ship type 40 is the high-speed craft (hsc) family with no cargo declaration. What it means, what it does not, and how many vessels we can hear sending it right now.
What code 40 means
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.
A units digit of 0 is the plain family code with no cargo declaration attached. It is the most common way the family is reported.
Reading the two digits
- Tens digit 4 → the high-speed craft (hsc) family, codes 40–49.
- Units digit 0 → all ships of this type.
- Therefore: High-speed craft.
Every code in the 40–49 range
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 40 | High-speed craft |
| 41 | High-speed craft, hazardous category A |
| 42 | High-speed craft, hazardous category B |
| 43 | High-speed craft, hazardous category C |
| 44 | High-speed craft, hazardous category D |
| 45 | High-speed craft, reserved |
| 46 | High-speed craft, reserved |
| 47 | High-speed craft, reserved |
| 48 | High-speed craft, reserved |
| 49 | High-speed craft, no additional information |
What the code is not
The ship-and-cargo type is typed into the transponder by whoever installs or operates it. No authority checks it against the ship’s certificates, and it is broadcast in the static report every six minutes whether or not it is right. It describes what the operator says the vessel is, not what it is doing — that is the job of the navigational status.
For the whole decade structure in one read, see AIS ship type codes explained.