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 shadow fleets, maritime stakeholders are navigating risk on multiple fronts at once.
At LISW, Windward is spotlighting how Maritime AI™ helps organizations cut through uncertainty, adapt in real time, and turn today’s challenges into strategic clarity. Windward Academy, our global forum for thought leadership and knowledge-sharing, will anchor this conversation at LISW 2025 with a special focus on compliance, enforcement, and maritime risk, featuring industry experts from OFAC, OFSI, RUSI, HFW, and more. Here’s a preview of the hot topics shaping 2025 and the conversations we’ll bring to the Academy stage.
Signal Disruption is Operational Disruption
In August, Windward detected a surge in GPS jamming around the Russian port of Nakhodka, the third major oil hub after Ust-Luga and Novorossiysk to be hit this year with deliberate interference. Over 100 vessels saw their navigation signals diverted onto land, distorting their tracks and obscuring true port activity.
These tactics are now common across the Baltic, Black Sea, Arabian Gulf, and Red Sea, where nearly 2,000 vessels a month are impacted by GPS jamming or location (GNSS) manipulation. The effects are far from theoretical. False port calls, delayed clearances, and voyage planning chaos ripple across supply chains.
In 2025, the challenge isn’t tracking where a vessel is – it’s proving the data you see can be trusted.
Sanctions & Compliance: OFAC & EU Raise the Stakes
This year has brought two of the most consequential regulatory shifts in recent maritime history:
- OFAC’s 2025 Maritime Advisory (April): Behavioral risk is now as important as entity risk. AIS disablements, ship-to-ship transfers, and false flagging must be proactively detected and documented.
- EU’s 18th Sanctions Package (July): Flag registries in Gabon and Comoros were sanctioned, 105 new tankers were banned from EU ports, and a dynamic oil price cap was introduced. From January 2026, imports of refined products made from Russian crude, even in third countries, will also be banned.
Together, these frameworks expand the compliance net beyond vessels and owners to the entire commercial ecosystem. For operators, insurers, and traders, compliance is no longer about avoiding sanctioned names. It’s about proving you understand and monitor ownership structures, behavioral patterns, and cargo provenance, continuously, not reactively.
Document Verification: The Next Compliance Battleground
Sanctions enforcement is no longer satisfied with list screening. Regulators, banks, and counterparties now demand proof that shipping documents align with “sea reality.”
Bills of Lading (BoL) and Certificates of Origin (COO), once treated as routine paperwork, are now live compliance checkpoints. Fraudulent registries, forged certificates, and Gen AI-powered forgeries mean every document carries risk.
Without verification, every document becomes a potential liability. A single mismatch between declared paperwork and vessel behavior can trigger frozen cargoes, financing delays, or regulatory penalties.
Windward’s New Solution: AI-Automated- Document Validation
To meet this challenge, Windward has launched AI-Automated Document Validation, the first solution to automatically cross-check trade documents against real-world vessel activity.
Instead of relying on “pass/fail” checks, the system verifies whether declared port calls occurred, detects dark activity and spoofing, flags hidden ownership ties, and ensures container-level accuracy. Every check is explainable and logged, creating an audit-ready trail that can be shared with regulators, banks, and insurers.
The impact is transformative. Documents that once slowed business now accelerate it by protecting stakeholders from fraud, reducing investigative noise, and enabling faster, regulator-ready decisions.
What We’ll Be Exploring at LISW 2025
At Windward Academy, we’ll explore the most pressing challenges shaping maritime operations in 2025, from sanctions and enforcement, where OFAC’s new advisory and the EU’s 18th package expand compliance expectations, to the growing impact of GPS jamming and location (GNSS) manipulation on operational clarity. We’ll also examine how fraudulent documents and Gen AI-powered forgeries are making verification a frontline compliance issue, and look ahead at how AI and automation are transforming compliance workflows from reactive checks into proactive, explainable processes that regulators and counterparties now demand.
Our session will feature a rare lineup of industry leaders and experts, including:
Brian Callahan, Sanctions Compliance Officer, OFAC
Olga Dimitrescu, Head of Industry Engagement, OFSI, HM Treasury
Daniel Martin, Partner, HFW
Gonzalo Saiz, Research Fellow, Centre for Finance and Security (CFS), RUSI
Rune Wolfhagen, Counsellor, Head of Political Section, Danish Embassy in London
Richard Baron, Group Head of Compliance, SOCAR Trading
Mark Church, Head of FD&D Claims Nordics & Northern Europe / Head of Sanctions Advice, NorthStandard
Adam Jessop, Compliance Officer, Financial Crime, Braemar
Michelle Wiese Bockmann, Senior Maritime Intelligence Analyst, Windward
Daniel Levison, Head of Forward Deployed AI Solutions, Windward
Hila Sasson, Director of Product Marketing, Windward
Harry Corkerry, Head of T&S Strategic Accounts & Enterprise Sales, Windward
📅 September 17
🕘 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM
📍 Sea Containers Hotel, London
Disruptions will keep coming – some predictable, others sudden. The real question is whether organizations have the tools to adapt in real time. With Windward’s AI-powered solutions, clarity is possible, and at LISW 2025, we’ll show you how. We hope to see you there – register today to secure your seat at Windward Academy.
