About HarborSignal
Free maritime intelligence for macro traders and analysts
What is HarborSignal?
HarborSignal is a free, publicly accessible energy market intelligence platform. It monitors vessel traffic at five major energy and trade hubs plus the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint, using live AIS (Automatic Identification System) transponder data updated hourly.
When vessel counts or congestion scores deviate meaningfully from recent baselines, Claude AI generates a plain-English brief describing the anomaly, the likely cause, and the assets most likely to be affected — energy futures, shipping stocks, and commodity ETFs.
Why does port traffic matter to traders?
Global commodity markets are downstream of physical trade flows. When tankers cluster at Houston or Sabine Pass, US crude and LNG export volumes are about to move. When Rotterdam congestion spikes, European refined-product demand is shifting. When transit traffic at the Strait of Hormuz changes, ~20% of global oil is repricing.
This kind of data has historically been the domain of expensive institutional platforms like Kpler and Vortexa, priced at thousands of dollars per month. HarborSignal makes the underlying signal accessible to anyone, for free.
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Ports and chokepoints monitored
Coverage expands as our AIS feed permits. Additional ports (Persian Gulf, China, Australia, Brazil) require satellite AIS upgrade and are on the roadmap.
Data sources
AIS vessel position data is sourced from AISStream.io, a real-time WebSocket AIS feed. Stock and futures prices are sourced from the Yahoo Finance public API. EIA petroleum inventory data is sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The Baltic Dry Index is sourced from public market feeds.
Important disclaimers
HarborSignal is a general-purpose information publication. Nothing on this site constitutes investment advice, financial advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell any security or commodity. AI briefs are automated pattern analysis, not the opinion of a licensed analyst, investment adviser, or commodity trading adviser.
The platform operates under the publisher's exemption from investment adviser registration (Section 202(a)(11)(D) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940). Content is distributed simultaneously and identically to all users with no personalization.
How is it free?
HarborSignal is supported by display advertising. We do not sell user data, require account registration, or charge subscription fees. The goal is to validate the utility of the data while keeping it accessible to everyone — from retail traders to institutional researchers.
Contact
Questions, data errors, partnership inquiries, or advertising: contact us here.