Executive brief #3 From AIS screening to behavior analysis
What’s inside?
The Automatic Identification System (AIS) has profoundly changed our understanding of what is happening at sea, providing a deeper understanding of where ships are and where they are headed at all times. However, what AIS does not answer is: What is the ship doing? Why is it doing that? What is its importance?
A skilled analyst can answer that question, however, they may require hours or even days to do so. With the rise of false positives, this means transactions would slow down significantly, transforming compliance risks into operational risks.
Training artificial intelligence algorithms to conduct expert shipping analysis automatically speeds-up vessel due diligence processes and provides compliance professionals with always up-to-date recommendations. Such automation helps minimize false positives and maintain existing compliance frameworks and controls without needing additional domain experts.
Key takeaways
AIS manipulations and sanctions evasion – Behavior analysis can shed light on the context of questionable activities at sea, generating valuable insights that can support decision making.
Behavior analysis: The case of the Pacific Bravo – To determine whether or not a vessel was evading sanctions requires deep domain knowledge, expertise in sanctions evasion typologies, and above all, time.
Scale up behavior analysis with artificial intelligence (AI) – Integrating advanced AI capabilities into vessel due diligence enables automatic clearance of low-risk events and flags suspicious patterns of behavior.
Download the full brief
Featured posts
HORMUZ INTELLIGENCE
A Second ADNOC Strike in a Week as Koh-e-Mubarak Hardens Into an Evasion Hub
At a Glance Two ADNOC Tankers Strcuk by Iranian UAVs The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned what it described as a hostile Iranian attack on two ADNOC-affiliated vessels struck by UAVs while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on August 14, with no injuries reported. The UAE called it a violation of UN Security Council…
What the Navy’s Procurement Reset Means for the Intelligence Layer
At a Glance The Navy’s FY27 Request Signals Urgency, Not Just Budget Growth The Department of the Navy’s FY27 budget request is one of the largest in recent memory. The $377.5 billion topline is a 23% increase over FY26, with $65.8 billion for shipbuilding, $150 billion for procurement broadly, and generational investment in the Golden…
Kharg’s Western Terminal Reactivates as the Caspian Corridor Structurally Expands
At a Glance Competing Claims on Hormuz Control President Trump stated the U.S. has total control of the Strait via its naval blockade. Iran says it still controls the waterway, plans a toll system, and will not reopen it until its conditions are met. The competing claims reflect an increasingly hardened diplomatic posture on both…
How Three Sensors Surface a Vessel of Interest in Australia’s Cable Damage
At a Glance What Happened Off Perth Over the weekend of August 9-10, 2026, two of Australia’s subsea internet cables, Indigo West and Indigo Central, were damaged inside the Submarine Cable Protection Zone off Perth. Owned by SUBCO, the cables form part of the infrastructure carrying international internet traffic between Australia and Southeast Asia. Australian…
Three Kinetic Incidents in One Window as the Iran-Oman Corridor Expands
At a Glance Operational Overview Three kinetic incidents in a single window have hit three different theaters simultaneously. TIHAMAH was struck and grounded near Perim Island off Al Mokha, killing three crew, the first fatalities from a Houthi attack on a vessel in Yemeni waters this escalation round. The UAE confirmed Iran struck an ADNOC…
What Is Dark Activity, and Why Is It Surging in 2026?
At a Glance What Is Dark Activity? Dark activity refers to periods when a commercial vessel intentionally stops broadcasting its Automatic Identification System, or AIS, signal. When a vessel goes dark, its position, course, speed, and identity are no longer visible to the shore-based and satellite-based tracking systems that comprise the global maritime picture. The…
From Pixels to Findings: How Image Analytics Changes What Satellite Imagery Can Tell You
Satellite imagery has always shown you what’s in a scene. Every dot, every wake, every hull is a detection. What it hasn’t done, until now, is tell you who that detection is, and whether you should care. That’s the gap Windward’s new Image Analytics closes. It’s made up of two capabilities released together: Vessel Correlation,...
Windward is releasing GPS Jamming Resilience, a new platform capability that automatically identifies and suppresses the false vessel activity generated by GPS interference, before any of it reaches an analyst. It launches already proven. Since Operation Epic Fury began in late February, the capability has filtered more than 2.2 million false ship-to-ship (STS) meeting records...
Ground Truth: Windward’s 2026 Commitment to Verified Maritime Intelligence
By Ariel Zibziner, VP Business Services, Windward Data Integrity in an Era of High-Frequency Signal Manipulation As we conclude 2025, the maritime domain is characterized by a trust deficit in digital signaling. The convergence of major global conflicts — continued hostilities in Ukraine, Houthi attacks disrupting Red Sea transit, suspected infrastructure sabotage in the Baltic,...
Windward Launches WhatsApp Integration for Instant Risk Insights
At a Glance Redefining Vessel Screening for a Real-Time World In global trade and shipping, decisions are rarely made from behind a desk. A call from port control, a sudden request from a counterpart, or a time-sensitive deal can trigger the need for immediate screening. Whether it’s a compliance check to prevent sanctions breaches or...
Navigate 2025’s Maritime Risk Landscape with Maritime AI™ at London International Shipping Week
As the global shipping community gathers for London International Shipping Week (LISW) 2025, one reality stands out: disruption is the operating environment, not the exception. The maritime ecosystem is under sustained pressure, and adapting to this high risk era is now a prerequisite for business continuity. From sanctions and signal interference to fraudulent documents and...