AIS ship and cargo type · Other type
AIS ship type 96: Other type, reserved
Ship type 96 is reserved by the AIS standard and has no assigned meaning. Here is what it tells you when a vessel sends it anyway.
What code 96 means
The 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.
Units digits 5 to 8 are reserved for future use in the qualified families. The standard gives them no meaning, so we report the family and say plainly that the qualifier is undefined rather than guessing.
Reading the two digits
- Tens digit 9 → the other type family, codes 90–99.
- Units digit 6 → reserved (no meaning is assigned to it yet).
- Therefore: Other type, reserved.
Every code in the 90–99 range
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 90 | Other type |
| 91 | Other type, hazardous category A |
| 92 | Other type, hazardous category B |
| 93 | Other type, hazardous category C |
| 94 | Other type, hazardous category D |
| 95 | Other type, reserved |
| 96 | Other type, reserved |
| 97 | Other type, reserved |
| 98 | Other type, reserved |
| 99 | Other type, 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.