January 27, 2026
Six Essential Takeaways from the 2026 U.S. National Defense Strategy for Maritime Leaders
Generate high-confidence maritime leads and actionable insights through precise queries and in-app analysis, using custom-built tools for complex maritime investigations.
Maritime risk hides in complex patterns designed to mask activity. Static filters and isolated alerts create noise. Windward Search & Analytics changes that.
Identify complex maritime behavioral patterns and reverse-engineer known behaviors into sequence-based queries to uncover new vessels, events, and leads that follow the same operational logic.
Identify ship-to-ship activity by classifying meeting types and applying criteria to both vessels. Narrow results by behavior, location, duration, and counterpart attributes to eliminate noise and surface only relevant interactions.
Interactively explore search results to uncover patterns and commonalities. Group, filter, and compare vessels, events, and attributes to extract additional insights and refine investigative focus without leaving the platform.
Move beyond individual vessels to understand the broader network. Reveal sister vessels, ownership connections, shared behaviors, and extended operational networks to generate additional leads and advance investigations with contextual awareness across ownership links.
Identify new vessels and activities using advanced querying and filtering. Expand investigations by uncovering connected vessels through ownership links or identical behavioral patterns.
Expose similarities across vessels, routes, and behaviors to identify emerging trends, high-risk areas, flags, and coordinated networks that would otherwise remain hidden.
Reverse-engineer known behavioral sequences used by bad actors to uncover not just additional leads, but new tactics, methodologies, and patterns of illicit maritime activity.
Discover new bunkering hotspots, emerging sailing routes, and operational patterns by analyzing large-scale maritime behavior beyond traditional market assumptions.
What is Windward’s Search and Analytics solution?
Windward’s Search and Analytics is an advanced investigative capability within the Maritime AI™ platform that enables users to run precise, behavior-driven queries, analyze results in context, and uncover hidden maritime risks, networks, and opportunities with confidence.
How is Search and Analytics different from traditional maritime search tools?
Traditional tools rely on static filters and isolated alerts. Windward enables sequence-based search, behavioral pattern analysis, and network exploration, allowing users to investigate how vessels operate over time and in relation to others, not just where they appear at a single moment.
What is sequence search, and why is it important?
Sequence search allows users to reverse-engineer known behaviors into structured queries. Instead of searching for a single event, users can identify vessels that follow the same operational sequence, uncovering additional leads and previously unknown activity that matches known illicit or high-risk patterns.
Does Windward enable precise investigations of ship-to-ship activity?
Windward’s Advanced Ship-to-Ship Search allows investigators to go beyond basic proximity detection by classifying ship-to-ship meeting types and applying criteria to both vessels involved. Users can refine searches based on behavior, location, duration, vessel role, ownership attributes, and risk indicators on either side of the interaction. This makes it possible to isolate complex or high-risk ship-to-ship operations, reduce noise from benign encounters, and surface only the interactions that warrant deeper investigation or escalation.
What is Visual Link Analysis, and how does it support investigations?
Visual Link Analysis reveals connections between vessels, companies, and behaviors by mapping ownership ties, sister vessels, shared routes, and repeated operational patterns. This helps investigators move beyond single-vessel analysis and understand the broader networks behind maritime activity.
How do pivot tables enhance maritime investigations?
Pivot table analysis allows users to dynamically group, filter, and compare search results directly in the platform. This makes it easier to identify common attributes, trends, or anomalies across vessels, regions, or behaviors without exporting data or switching tools.
What types of risks or activities can Search and Analytics uncover?
The solution supports investigations into sanctions evasion, deceptive shipping practices, coordinated ship-to-ship operations, hidden ownership networks, emerging smuggling methods, and evolving operational patterns. It can also surface commercial insights such as new routes, hotspots, and market shifts.
Who typically uses Windward’s Search and Analytics?
Search and Analytics is used by intelligence analysts, compliance teams, investigators, traders, and maritime risk professionals who need to move beyond alerts to conduct structured, defensible investigations and generate high-confidence leads.
How does Search and Analytics reduce investigative noise and false positives?
By focusing on behavioral sequences, multi-attribute criteria, and contextual analysis, Windward helps users narrow results to activities that truly match their investigative logic. This avoids over-alerting and ensures findings are relevant, explainable, and actionable.
Can Search and Analytics support both risk investigations and commercial analysis?
Yes. While it is widely used for risk and compliance investigations, the same tools can identify emerging bunkering hotspots, new sailing routes, and operational trends, enabling commercial teams to uncover opportunities and validate strategic assumptions with data.
What makes Windward’s Search and Analytics suitable for complex maritime investigations?
Windward combines maritime-specific behavioral models, deep historical data, and purpose-built investigative tools in a single environment. This allows users to uncover patterns, networks, and intent that generic analytics or search tools are not designed to detect.
