Multi-Source Tech Enhances Operational Readiness

Maritime AI™ is the foundation for any effective solution, it transforms a sea of raw data into actionable insights. It is Windward’s responsibility to constantly look to enhance and improve the quality and range of the insights we provide to our customers and partners. That’s why we enable our users to integrate additional layers and location data to complete the risk picture. 

As part of this effort, Windward has partnered with the leading satellite data provider in the market, Spire Global, to supply its unique positional validation data to complete those missing pieces for vessels that have manipulated their position reports, or have gone dark.

Organizations, such as border security and intelligence units, benefit from satellite technology to detect ships, and search for suspicious maritime activities in near or distant waters. Windward’s platform now enables users to overlay locations from Spire’s AIS Position Validation (AIS PV) offering. 

This additional layer can help governmental organizations, detect ships, and search for suspicious maritime activities in near or distant waters.

Using advanced radio-frequency data , Spire’s AIS Position Validation capability independently calculates locations for vessels at the time of their AIS transmissions. These calculated locations can be used to validate a vessel’s reported position. This will be a game-changer for detecting deceptive shipping practices (DSPs).

An umbrella term called “spoofing” has been driving the maritime industry crazy with multiple interpretations. Within this concept, there are multiple tactics involving the use of various identities, transmitters, and even locations (global navigation satellite system – GNSS) manipulation methodologies that are growing at an exponential speed compared to previous deceptive shipping practices. 

Windward’s Maritime AI™ platform found a 12% increase in location (GNSS) manipulation during the first half of 2023 compared to the same period the year before, as well as an 82% increase compared to H1 2021. 

Location (GNSS) manipulation is the use of a machine-generated location/path to disguise the true location of the vessel. Multiple methods have been identified to carry out this deception, including false transmission onboard the vessel and third-party onshore accomplices.

The manipulation of vessels’ AIS-transmitted locations is a fast-growing trend and is starting to receive the attention of regulators such as OFAC, OFSI, EU and other international bodies setting sanctions guidance. The maritime ecosystem needs to follow the lead of the regulators and quickly awaken to the idea that things are a lot more complicated than they seem. It’s nowhere near as simple as merely screening for sanctions lists or detecting dark activity – although that is still relevant and necessary. The cat and mouse game continues to evolve at warp speed, with complicated deceptive practices and ‘unknown-unknown’ risks. 

The new AIS Position Validation data feed from Spire compiles another layer of data that enables Windward customers to display the calculated location of vessels that are manipulating their transmissions and better contextualize the vessels’ actual operations during the time of manipulation.

The estimation of a vessel’s area of operations during the time of the manipulation can be projected based on the vessel’s historical pattern of life, and the context of its whereabouts prior to the start of the manipulation. For example, a vessel manipulating its position in the Arabian Gulf, where it never visited or operated before, is most likely engaging in illegal smuggling activities.

In the case presented below, a VLCC was automatically flagged in the Windward system for manipulating its AIS and spoofing its location.

Before this partnership, dark vessel detection was an urban legend – some people whispered about it happening, but it was just not feasible to systematically track vessels that were not transmitting valid locations…until now.

Long distance fishing fleets have been operating in international waters for many years and some have engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.  

As shown in the sequence of activities below, foreign fishing vessels often operate on the borders of EEZs and international waters. Many disable their AIS positional information once they enter a country’s EEZ to harvest their fish illegally, in this case in Argentinian waters.

For years, Windward has been keeping its customers covered by automatically flagging and alerting them on deceptive shipping practices, allowing traders and shippers to complete their business and trades with confidence, and empowering government agencies with enhanced detection to prevent smuggling and terror activities. 

Now you can enhance this innovative AI base with satellite images and positional validation integration to go beyond the dot on the map and predict where to focus sensors and task forces, bringing tremendous efficiency and value. 

A platform-centric, vendor-agnostic approach, empowers users to easily integrate any positional data, SAR, or optical images; enhance coverage by using predictive insights and vessel behavior data; and identify illicit actors going beyond AIS disablement to conceal their activities. We’re talking about a single platform that can:

• Automatically flag location (GNSS) manipulation (patented model)
• Perform dark vessel detection
• Overlay imagery on a map with a vessel positions and activities layer