<![CDATA[Vessel tracking is critical for ensuring the safety and operational efficiency of the maritime industry. However, the reliance on tracking devices from disparate commercial vendors (e.g., Vendor A, Vendor B, and G-Track) introduces severe data fragmentation, forcing operators to navigate multiple proprietary dashboards. Furthermore, custom-built Internet of Things (IoT) tracking devices lack interoperability with these existing commercial platforms. This study proposes the design and development of a centralized Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) to aggregate data from both commercial and independent tracking hardware into a unified interface. Following the Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM), a middleware architecture was implemented utilizing Application Programming Interface (API) standardization to harmonize data communication protocols across heterogeneous devices. Experimental results demonstrate that the developed aggregator platform successfully receives, processes, and visualizes geospatial coordinates from the three distinct vendor protocols in real-time within a single dashboard. The system demonstrated robust performance, achieving an average API request latency of 125 ms, a throughput of 450 req/sec, and a minimal data loss rate of 0.8%. Additionally, the platform is capable of bidirectional communication for parameter configuration on custom IoT tracking modules. In conclusion, this centralized approach effectively mitigates interoperability bottlenecks, enhances fleet monitoring efficiency, and provides an extensible framework for independent hardware integration.]]>
