Shipmap.org by Kiln

Shipmap.org is an ambitious interactive WebGL map of commercial shipping movements based on hundreds of millions of data points from throughout 2012 (the most recent year for which all the raw input data was available). The project's aim is to highlight for a broad audience the extraordinary scale of modern commercial shipping, the routes these huge vessels take around the world, the geographic spread of different types of cargo boats, and the amount of carbon dioxide they produce.

The unique base map shows ocean depth and major rivers, while the ships can be viewed as a high-resolution animation of movements over time (the 'ships' view) or as a plot showing all the positions at once (the 'routes' view), optionally colour-coded by ship type. A Talkie voiceover with music introduction sets the scene and provides an explanatory tour of the map.