On 16 May leading global ship tracking intelligence company MarineTraffic and the United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding. Under the agreement, UNCTAD and MarineTraffic will be sharing information and data that will enable both organisations to enhance their services and allow for more accurate analysis of global trade and shipping trends.

Geneva-headquartered UNCTAD plays an important role in integrating developing countries into the world economy, with maritime-related research, policy analysis and data collection an integral part of this process.

MarineTraffic currently records 800 million vessel positions and 18 million vessel- and port-related events monthly by tracking ships’ Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) through a network of terrestrial receivers and satellites.