> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://terminal49-feat-trade-intel-sdk.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Get vessel future positions

> Retrieve a vessel's estimated future route between two ports from the Terminal49 API, returning a sequence of positions spaced one minute apart.

<Note>
  This is a paid Routing Data endpoint. See [Entitlements and Paid Features](/api-docs/useful-info/entitlements) for access requirements and non-entitled responses.
</Note>

This endpoint requires the destination port ID (`port_id`) and the previous port ID (`previous_port_id`) for the vessel leg you want to forecast.

## How to find the port IDs

If you are starting from a tracked container, call [`GET /v2/containers/{id}/map_geojson`](/api-docs/api-reference/containers/get-container-map-geojson) and inspect the `port` features. Each port feature includes:

* `properties.location_id` - the port UUID to pass as `port_id` or `previous_port_id`
* `properties.ports_sequence` - the route order
* `properties.label` - route label such as `POL`, `POD`, or transshipment labels

Use the destination port's `location_id` as `port_id`, and the preceding port's `location_id` as `previous_port_id`.


## OpenAPI

````yaml get /vessels/{id}/future_positions
openapi: 3.0.0
info:
  title: Terminal49 API Reference
  version: 0.2.0
  contact:
    name: Terminal49 API support
    url: https://www.terminal49.com
    email: support@terminal49.com
  description: >-
    The Terminal 49 API offers a convenient way to programmatically track your
    shipments from origin to destination.


    Please enter your API key into the "Variables" tab before using these
    endpoints within Postman.
  x-label: Beta
  termsOfService: https://www.terminal49.com/terms
servers:
  - url: https://api.terminal49.com/v2
    description: Production
security:
  - authorization: []
tags:
  - name: Containers
  - name: Custom Field Definitions
  - name: Custom Field Options
  - name: Custom Fields
  - name: Shipments
  - name: Locations
  - name: Events
  - name: Tracking Requests
  - name: Webhooks
  - name: Webhook Notifications
  - name: Ports
  - name: Metro Areas
  - name: Terminals
  - name: Routing (Paid)
  - name: Documents
  - name: Email Submissions
  - name: Document Schemas
  - name: Search
  - name: Parties
  - name: Trade Intelligence
    description: >-
      Trade intelligence answers questions about who imports what into the US,
      from where, on which carriers, and how that changes over time. The data is
      US import bill-of-lading records (US Customs vessel manifests): every
      ocean container landed at a US port (plus US-bound cargo landed at
      Vancouver, BC) from January 2022 to today, refreshed daily. It does not
      include air freight, exports, or domestic moves.


      **Access.** Trade intelligence is enabled per account. Accounts without it
      receive `403 Forbidden` with `{"error": "Trade intelligence is not enabled
      for this account"}`; contact sales@terminal49.com to enable it. Requests
      are limited to roughly 120 per minute per account (`429` with `{"error":
      "Rate limit exceeded; retry in a minute"}`).


      **Format.** These endpoints accept and return plain JSON, not JSON:API.
      Send `Content-Type: application/json` on `POST` requests and authenticate
      exactly like every other v2 endpoint (`Authorization: Token
      YOUR_API_KEY`).


      **Typical flow.** Resolve a name or product first, then analyze:
      `companies/search` or `commodities/search` give you the exact
      `company_name` or `hs4` to pass to `companies/profile`, `importers/top`,
      `trends`, or `breakdown`. Container and bill of lading numbers go straight
      to `containers/lookup` and `bills_of_lading/lookup`.


      **Reading the numbers.**


      - **Volume is physical containers.** Each box is counted once, even when
      it appears on several bills of lading. A container carrying several HS
      codes counts once per code and companies can share containers, so do not
      add volumes across HS codes or companies; take market totals from `trends`
      or `breakdown` without a company filter.

      - **Estimated value is a modelled USD estimate**, not the declared customs
      value.

      - **The current month is partial.** `trends` and `breakdown` include it by
      default; `companies/profile` and `importers/top` use full calendar months.
      Compare full months against the same months a year earlier.

      - **Absent volume is not small volume.** Importers can ask US Customs to
      withhold their name from manifests, and much large-retail freight is
      booked under forwarders or suppliers. Treat a company's figures as a
      floor, never as its size.

      - **One company, many names.** Company names are normalized but split by
      state, and large importers use several names (distribution, merchandising,
      and DC entities). Related entities are separate companies; report them
      separately. `companies/search` ranks by match quality, not by size.

      - **Companies are the consignee or notify party on the bill.** Forwarders,
      NVOCCs, and customs brokers appear alongside cargo owners. A high
      notify-party share, or LOGISTICS, FREIGHT, SHIPPING, CUSTOMS, or BROKERAGE
      in the name, usually indicates a logistics provider.

      - **Carriers, countries, and ports use the manifests' spellings**, and
      carriers appear under spelling variants (for example `CMA CGM` and `CMA
      CGM AMERICA LLC`). Filter with substrings and merge variants before
      computing shares.

      - **HS4 descriptions are truncated.** Check `common_goods` from
      `commodities/search` before relying on a code.
paths:
  /vessels/{id}/future_positions:
    parameters:
      - schema:
          type: string
        name: id
        in: path
        required: true
    get:
      tags:
        - Routing (Paid)
        - Vessels
      summary: Get vessel future positions
      description: >-
        Returns the estimated route between two ports for a given vessel.
        <Warning> The timestamp of the positions has fixed spacing of one
        minute.</Warning> <Note>This is a paid feature. Please contact
        sales@terminal49.com.</Note>
      operationId: get-vessels-id-future-positions
      parameters:
        - schema:
            type: string
            format: uuid
          in: query
          name: port_id
          description: The destination port id
          required: true
        - schema:
            type: string
            format: uuid
          in: query
          name: previous_port_id
          description: The previous port id
          required: true
      responses:
        '200':
          description: OK
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: object
                properties:
                  data:
                    $ref: '#/components/schemas/vessel_with_positions'
                  links:
                    type: object
                    properties:
                      self:
                        type: string
                        format: uri
        '403':
          description: Forbidden - Routing data feature is not enabled for this account
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: object
                properties:
                  errors:
                    type: array
                    items:
                      type: object
                      properties:
                        status:
                          type: string
                          example: '403'
                        title:
                          type: string
                          example: Forbidden
                        detail:
                          type: string
                          example: Routing data feature is not enabled for this account
components:
  schemas:
    vessel_with_positions:
      title: Vessel with positions model
      type: object
      properties:
        id:
          type: string
          format: uuid
        type:
          type: string
          enum:
            - vessel
        attributes:
          type: object
          properties:
            name:
              type: string
              description: The name of the ship or vessel
            imo:
              type: string
              description: International Maritime Organization (IMO) number
              nullable: true
            mmsi:
              type: string
              description: Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI)
              nullable: true
            latitude:
              type: number
              description: The current latitude position of the vessel
              nullable: true
            longitude:
              type: number
              description: The current longitude position of the vessel
              nullable: true
            nautical_speed_knots:
              type: number
              description: The current speed of the ship in knots (nautical miles per hour)
              nullable: true
            navigational_heading_degrees:
              type: number
              description: >-
                The current heading of the ship in degrees, where 0 is North, 90
                is East, 180 is South, and 270 is West
              nullable: true
            position_timestamp:
              type: string
              format: date-time
              description: >-
                The timestamp of when the ship's position was last recorded, in
                ISO 8601 date and time format
              nullable: true
            positions:
              type: array
              description: Array of estimated future positions
              items:
                type: object
                properties:
                  latitude:
                    type: number
                  longitude:
                    type: number
                  heading:
                    type: number
                    nullable: true
                  timestamp:
                    type: string
                    format: date-time
                  estimated:
                    type: boolean
                required:
                  - latitude
                  - longitude
                  - timestamp
                  - estimated
      required:
        - id
        - type
        - attributes
  securitySchemes:
    authorization:
      name: Authorization
      type: apiKey
      in: header
      description: >-
        Use a Terminal49 API key in the `Authorization` header with the `Token`
        prefix.


        `Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY`

````

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