ShipPlotter is a unique piece of software that enables a user to have a quasi-live radar type display of shipping in their local coastal region or other regions and waterways around the world. The software decodes radio signals, received using a VHF radio receiver or scanner, from ships transmitting digital data using the marine Automatic Identification System (AIS). The book provides an excellent description of the AIS system and messaging. ShipPlotter visually displays the position and identification of each ship either as radar view or on a chart created from a graphic image file, a satellite image download or a downloaded Open Street Map. Whilst mariners, small boat owners and yachtsmen can use the ShipPlotter software this book is written for and intended solely for the hobbyist and ship-spotting enthusiast. Its contents therefore should not be used as any sort of guidance or advice for those who are not firmly fixed to their seats in the comfort of their homes on dry ground!