Resources

The how, what, and
why of ocean freight.

Plain-English explainers from the Broadpath team. How container tracking actually works, what historical vessel data tells you, why detention charges blow up margins — and a few other things every ops person eventually has to know.

All articles
6 articles · sorted by recent
Vessels & AIS

Why historical vessel tracking matters

Live AIS is great until your shipment is delayed and the carrier shrugs. Voyage history is where you find out what actually happened — and what to do next time.

Vessels & AIS

Vessel inspections, explained

Port State Control. MOUs. Detentions vs deficiencies. Why your container's vessel can sit at berth for three extra days, and how to spot the risk before it ships.

Operations

Detention & demurrage, decoded

Two charges that sound similar, mean different things, and quietly destroy margins. A field guide to free time, over-time, and the documentation that wins disputes.

Geography

Transhipment hubs, decoded

Singapore, Tanger Med, Manzanillo, Algeciras. Why your container changes ships in places you've never been, and what those swaps mean for your timeline.

Tracking

AIS vs Satellite AIS

Terrestrial receivers see ships near the coast. Satellites see them everywhere else. When each one matters, and what the gaps in between tell you.

Tracking

How container tracking actually works

The carrier publishes a JSON blob. We stitch it to AIS. The result is a timeline you can hand to ops. Here's every link in that chain.

Stop guessing. Start tracking.

Every article here ends with the same conclusion: visibility wins. Broadpath gives you that visibility in one dashboard — across containers, vessels, and ports.

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