Build reference · sources for HulloShips
What it takes to build it

The sources behind the Zillow of ships.

A Zillow for vessels is only as good as its data. This is the working catalogue of every feed, valuation reference, registry, regulator, marina, harbour, builder, tracker, and industry source HulloShips can draw on — with how each one is accessed, what it covers, what it costs, and how well it fits. The catalogue now runs to 431 real sources across 19 categories — one group for each database the platform maintains (marinas, harbours, shipyards, ship storage, cruise lines, yacht builders, brokers, competitors, superyachts and ships-for-sale). The full sortable worksheet is below; the cards underneath group the same sources by purpose. Every entry is a genuine organisation, dataset, registry or API — nothing invented. It keeps growing.

Master worksheet

Every data source, ranked & sortable.

Click any column header to sort. Click a row to expand notes on access, terms of service, and attribution. Use the filters to narrow by category. Sources marked no scrape are licensed/feed-only — we never scrape them.

# Source Category What it provides Access API Coverage Cost Fit

Access key: XML/CSV feed licensed data feed · REST API programmatic · membership via trade-body / partner · manual public lookup · no scrape license/feed only — do not scrape.  API column: can we programmatically pull it? REST API · Partner API · XML/CSV feed · No / manual · Scrape only ❌.  ⚔ rival = a consumer-facing boat marketplace that competes with HulloShips (still a possible data source).  Fit: ★★★ core to HulloShips · ★★ useful · ★ situational.

How we source it

Legally, by license — never by scraping.

Three legitimate pipes — and no scraping

HulloShips’ inventory comes from licensed data feeds (broker MLS / aggregator XML & CSV exports we’re entitled to republish), direct broker submissions through our own listing form, and data partnerships with valuation and registry providers. Most listing portals explicitly prohibit scraping in their terms — so we don’t. Every row above is tagged with its sanctioned access method.

Feed comparison →Submit a listing (brokers) →Outreach drafts →

Priority & sequencing

What to pursue first.

Don’t boil the ocean. Three moves unlock a working marketplace + valuation tool before any heavy data deal closes.

1
TheYachtMarket feed

The easiest first feed — an established broker network with a documented data-feed program. Fastest path to real for-sale inventory in /ships/.

2
Broker submissions

Stand up /list/ so brokers add boats directly — zero licensing cost, builds supply and relationships in parallel with feed talks.

3
VesselsValue partnership

The reference engine for the HulloValue “Zestimate for ships.” Pursue a data/partner arrangement to benchmark and seed the model.

1 · Listing marketplaces & broker feeds

Where the for-sale inventory comes from.

The supply of vessels on the market — the rows in the worksheet. Most expose data via broker feeds (XML/CSV) or partner APIs, not open access.

2 · Superyacht brokerage & intelligence

The top of the market.

Large-yacht sales run through a tight circle of specialist houses and one trade MLS — the inventory and comps consumer portals never see.

3 · Commercial S&P & shipbroking

Where ships actually change hands.

Cargo ships, tankers and bulkers trade through sale-and-purchase desks at the major shipbroking houses — the data spine for the commercial side of HulloShips.

4 · Charter data

Adjacent supply & pricing signals.

Charter fleets overlap heavily with the for-sale market — many listed yachts also charter, and charter rates are a pricing signal for HulloValue.

5 · Classifieds & private-seller

The private-seller long tail.

Where owners sell directly. Most of these ban scraping — the honest play is link-out (send buyers to their searches) except where an official API exists. eBay is the one we can actually ingest; Boat Trader is reachable through the Boats Group partner API.

6 · Valuation & market data

The comps behind the HulloValue™.

The proof that a “Zestimate for ships” works — existing valuation engines and price books to benchmark against.

7 · Registries & vessel identity

One source of truth per hull.

IMO numbers, particulars, ownership, flag — the spine that ties a listing to a real, identified vessel.

8 · Flag registries

Who the ship answers to.

Flag-state registers confirm registration, ownership and tonnage — a second identity check on top of the IMO number.

9 · Classification societies

Is the hull sound — and surveyed?

Class status that buyers, lenders, and insurers rely on. The IACS members carry most of the world’s tonnage.

10 · AIS, tracking & analytics

Position, movement & risk.

Live and historical positions, plus the analytics layer built on top — for enrichment, verification and the commercial side.

11 · Cruise & passenger ships

The big-passenger vertical.

Cruise ships and ferries change hands through specialist desks, not consumer portals — plus the trade body for market context.

12 · Specs & reference

The per-model spine.

Authoritative dimensions and particulars to normalize every listing to a clean per-model record.

13 · Auctions & distressed

Below-market & forced sales.

Repos, surplus, seized and estate vessels — a real, fragmented supply stream worth surfacing.

14 · Imagery & media

Properly-licensed pictures.

15 · Industry bodies & trends

Market context & partners.

16 · Marina data

Every marina, slip & berth.

The marina database — directories, reservation networks and trade bodies. Live slip and berth availability comes through reservation-platform and operator partnerships; the trade associations supply the operator contacts and quality ratings.

17 · Harbours & ports

Every harbour & port authority.

The harbour/port database starts from authoritative open references — the NGA World Port Index and UN/LOCODE — then layers in the major port authorities worldwide and the open nautical-chart data behind them.

18 · Yacht & ship builders / shipyards

The builders behind every hull.

The builders database — the authoritative source for model dimensions, layouts and standard equipment used to normalise every listing to a clean per-model record, from production sailboats to custom superyachts and commercial newbuilds.

19 · Free government nav & weather data

Open data that enriches every page.

Free, sanctioned government and EU datasets — tides, currents, charts and forecasts — that add navigation and met-ocean context to marina, harbour and listing pages at zero licensing cost.

20 · Build & methodology references

How the engine itself gets built.