by Sam Hawcroft
A Withernsea man has spoken about how his home-built marine tracking station became a vital source of real-time information during the dramatic collision between two vessels off the coast of East Yorkshire.
Andy Medcalf, a principal IT consultant as well as the co-director of Withernsea’s Blue Light Weekend, runs data stations from his home as a hobby.
During Monday’s maritime incident in the North Sea, his equipment played a crucial role in tracking ship movements – including the ill-fated cargo vessel MV Solong as it struck the oil tanker Stena Immaculate.
Andy said: “During the incident my devices were real-time tracking all ships and aircraft in the area, and even tracked the freight vessel as it headed down the coastline and into the oil tanker, as seen on TV.”
The collision sparked a major emergency response, and as details emerged, much of the initial data showing the movement of ships and aircraft in the area was being supplied via global systems fed by stations like Andy’s – which turned out to be the closest to the unfolding disaster.
Andy’s setup involves two Raspberry Pi devices, each connected to an antenna on his property. One antenna collects live ship data that feeds into the MarineTraffic global system, covering an area of about 20 miles offshore, including the busy Humber estuary. The other gathers live aircraft information for FlightAware and FlightRadar, with a range extending up to 250 miles – even as far as Germany.
Although there are other marine tracking stations along the Humber and at Hull Marina, Andy’s was the nearest during Monday’s incident, meaning his station was picking up crucial real-time positions. He added: “There are far more aircraft trackers than marine trackers in East Yorkshire.”
AIS (Automatic Identification System) stations like Andy’s receive signals from ships and send the data to MarineTraffic, which aggregates and displays vessel movements on a live map used by the public and professionals alike.
For Andy, it’s been a reminder of just how powerful – and valuable – a personal project can become. “I only built them as a challenge, but they ended up at the centre of a major disaster,” he said.
Anastassis Touros, AIS network lead at global data and analytics firm Kpler, said: “The efforts of citizens hosting AIS stations play a crucial role in enhancing maritime safety and visibility.
“By voluntarily setting up AIS antennas, they provide real-time data that helps track vessel movements and prevent incidents at sea.
“At Kpler, we recognise and support this invaluable contribution by providing AIS equipment free of charge to volunteers. Their dedication, combined with our platform MarineTraffic.com, ensures that critical maritime information remains accessible to the broader public – improving safety, transparency and situational awareness across global waters.”