Shipmap.org
Ranked 5 of 26 interactive maps by recommenders
People admire the animated, narrated map of global ship traffic, which slows time as you zoom in, but several note the data is old and incomplete.
People admire the animated, narrated map of global ship traffic, which slows time as you zoom in, but several note the data is old and incomplete.
29 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 23
- criticize it
- 6
- approval share
- 79%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 23 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Time-slowing zoom makes data tangible
“The time-based zoom interaction is clever - slowing down time as you zoom in makes the data feel more tangible.”
Comment from 8 Jan 2026 in “Shipmap.org” “There's a very nice effect where if you zoom in, time slows.”
Comment from 7 Jan 2026 in “Shipmap.org” Beautiful, mesmerising visualization of shipping
“to see it visually conceptualized (and the implications on economy and national interests) is very cool”
Comment from 7 Jan 2026 in “Shipmap.org” “This is weirdly beautiful, like the maps of undersea internet cables”
Comment from 7 Jan 2026 in “Shipmap.org” “This is pretty amazing to watch!”
Comment from 7 Jan 2026 in “Shipmap.org” - Comment from 7 Jan 2026 in “Shipmap.org”
Good voiceover and audio explanation
“I really loved the presentation. An interactive map with voice over”
Comment from 7 Jan 2026 in “Shipmap.org” “amazing website and the voiceover was also really good”
Comment from 8 Jan 2026 in “Shipmap.org” “Really well made and enjoyed the audio explanation.”
Comment from 8 Jan 2026 in “Shipmap.org” - Comment from 7 Jan 2026 in “Shipmap.org”
Informative and impressive for its age
“Kinda impressed that even this is ten years old it runs smoothly.”
Comment from 8 Jan 2026 in “Shipmap.org” “This is very informative.”
Comment from 8 Jan 2026 in “Shipmap.org”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Data is old, from 2012
“using 2012 data though? that was 14 years ago, mate”
Comment from 8 Jan 2026 in “Shipmap.org” “It seems like this only covers data from 2012”
Comment from 7 Jan 2026 in “Shipmap.org” Dataset incomplete and inaccurate
“major problems with accuracy”
Comment from 7 Jan 2026 in “Shipmap.org” “A lot of the tracks don't line up with the ports or channels that they are obviously using.”
Comment from 8 Jan 2026 in “Shipmap.org” “the dataset is obviously incomplete”
Comment from 8 Jan 2026 in “Shipmap.org” Unclear play button and land colors
“It's beautiful, but... I'm confused by the role of the play button.”
Comment from 8 Jan 2026 in “Shipmap.org” “I really wish the land was green or some more obvious color.”
Comment from 7 Jan 2026 in “Shipmap.org” Fails on mobile or old browsers
“Doesn't seem to work on mobile for me on ios18 and iphone12”
Comment from 8 Jan 2026 in “Shipmap.org” “Please use a modern browser to view this content”
Comment from 7 Jan 2026 in “Shipmap.org”
Other interactive maps people recommend
The four most recommended other interactive maps, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| isometric.nyc | 52 | 8 | 87% | 3 | — | — |
| Map of Metal | 34 | 4 | 89% | 2 | — | — |
| CheapFoodMap | 29 | 8 | 78% | 1 | — | — |
| Isopolis | 27 | 7 | 79% | 1 | — | — |
| Shipmap.orgThis page | 23 | 6 | 79% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
25 of the 29 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“seeing the shipmap post from yesterday and the inframap today were more so”
“the dataset is obviously incomplete”
“The time-based zoom interaction is clever - slowing down time as you zoom in makes the data feel more tangible.”
“Really well made and enjoyed the audio explanation.”
“Doesn't seem to work on mobile for me on ios18 and iphone12”
“A lot of the tracks don't line up with the ports or channels that they are obviously using.”
“It's beautiful, but... I'm confused by the role of the play button.”
“amazing website and the voiceover was also really good”
“Kinda impressed that even this is ten years old it runs smoothly.”
“This is very informative.”
“using 2012 data though? that was 14 years ago, mate”
“This is so cool, what I was hoping/expecting the post to be like”
“I really loved the presentation. An interactive map with voice over”
“Lovely site though. Mesmerising.”
“I really wish the land was green or some more obvious color.”
“It seems like this only covers data from 2012”
“This is my favourite of the visualisations that Duncan and I made back in the Kiln days”
“to see it visually conceptualized (and the implications on economy and national interests) is very cool”
“There's a very nice effect where if you zoom in, time slows.”
“major problems with accuracy”
“This is weirdly beautiful, like the maps of undersea internet cables”
“Cool to watch your stuff moving around the world!”
“Please use a modern browser to view this content”
“Like interactive documentary, loved it!”
“This is pretty amazing to watch!”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.