2025: The Year for Building a Resilient Data Strategy

Data resilience is the foundation of reliable operations. To deliver unmatched curated data and insights powered by Windward Maritime AI™, we’ve collaborated with globally recognized data providers. As the AIS data market keeps on evolving, these strategic partnerships ensure redundant data sources are in place, safeguarding continuity even in the face of acquisitions or closures. These changes present new opportunities for us to fortify relationships. 

Building on lessons from 2024, where data took center stage, Windward’s 2025 strategy will center on advancing our data capabilities to ensure even greater coverage, accuracy, and actionable insights for our customers.

This commitment is reinforced by our recent collaboration with S&P Global Market Intelligence, one of the world’s leading market data and analytics companies. The agreement guarantees continuous, high-quality data provision for Windward customers through 2030, reinforcing our resilience in an ever-changing sea of data.

This blog post will explain the fundamentals of Vessel AIS, how it operates, and the differences between terrestrial and satellite AIS coverage. It will highlight the importance of combining both types for complete and accurate vessel tracking. It will also explore how Windward’s robust data strategy – powered by strategic partnerships and over a decade of aggregated data – enables actionable insights, enhances maritime safety, and empowers organizations to make smarter, more efficient decisions.

What is Vessel AIS, Exactly? 

An automatic identification system (AIS) tracks vessel movements in real-time. Ships broadcast identification, location, speed, helping with collision avoidance, port logistics, and global monitoring. It’s mandatory for ships over 300 tons under International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules.

AIS transmits data from an onboard GPS – or sensors to nearby ships, shore stations, and satellites – enabling local and global tracking.

Which data points are shared?

• Static data: ship ID, size, and type (sent periodically)
• Dynamic data: position, speed, and course (updates based on movement)

Optimizing AIS Coverage

AIS coverage depends on the range of very high frequency (VHF) signals. While Terrestrial AIS (T-AIS) provides excellent coverage near coasts and ports, Satellite AIS (S-AIS) extends coverage to remote ocean regions, ensuring global visibility of vessels.

Combining T-AIS and S-AIS is optimal for complete coverage. T-AIS are on shore – and therefore limited in range – but there are over 6,000 vessels equipped with onboard receivers that transit the high seas and provide excellent coverage, and high-frequency updates in busy areas. S-AIS Satellite AIS offers the advantage of global coverage and fills in gaps for vessels traveling in open seas, or remote regions, creating a seamless, global tracking network. 

Ships broadcast their locations at varying intervals – some signals are sent every two to three seconds, others every eight minutes. These transmissions are picked up by either T-AIS or S-AIS stations. By combining these two sources, we achieve better coverage, crucial for tracking vessels in open ocean areas beyond the range of terrestrial stations.

Building Resilience Through Data Partnerships

Windward has reached a key milestone in securing data provisioning and redundancy through a new data-sharing agreement with S&P Global. This collaboration will provide Windward with the most comprehensive aggregated AIS data, leveraging one of the largest terrestrial data networks and over 6,000 vessels equipped with onboard receivers. The agreement ensures continuous, high-quality data provision through 2030.

In addition to S&P Global Market Intelligence’s data, Windward’s robust data repository also includes over a decade of aggregated data from more than 120 carriers, +1,400 ports and terminals, 5,500 container vessels, sailing schedules, meteorological data, and additional AIS data. This extensive integration enhances global reach while improving coverage and visibility in high-density areas.

Indexing Data, Powering Insights

Data is the fuel that powers AI, and the quality and variety of the data we use, directly impacts the insights we deliver. What sets us apart is our unique fusion process, which elevates our data quality. By heavily investing in data cleaning, fusion, and indexing, we provide a stable foundation that others often overlook. This applies to all of our models, whether powered by machine learning, deep learning, Gen AI, or a combination. Paired with maritime domain expertise, this approach ensures our insights are accurate and relevant. 

For customers, this translates into more accurate detection of dark activities and high-risk behaviors, alongside fewer false positives that enable smarter decision-making, operational efficiency and visibility, and better strategic outcomes.

The Foundation for Smarter Decisions

A winning data strategy depends on long-term, uninterrupted access to accurate and comprehensive data. With over a decade of aggregated data from more than 100 carriers and other key sources, combined with the ability to integrate this information into real-time actionable insights, the foundation for smarter decision-making and operational efficiency is firmly in place.

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