playbooks / vessel-tracking

Ship → owner, route and dark activity

Identify a vessel and its owner chain, track its AIS history, and spot gaps that suggest transponder switch-offs or ship-to-ship transfers.

start: ⚓ vesselyields: company, location, real namelevel: intermediate

1. 01

   Identify the vessel

   The IMO number is permanent, while names and flags change. Equasis gives the registered owner, ship manager, flag history and inspection records.

   • Equasisfreeacct reqdetails
   • MarineTrafficfreemiumacct optionalapimobiledetails
   • VesselFinderfreemiumacct optionalapimobiledetails

   → can yield: ▤Company

2. 02

   Track positions

   Pull current and recent AIS positions and port calls.

   • MarineTrafficfreemiumacct optionalapimobiledetails
   • VesselFinderfreemiumacct optionalapimobiledetails

   → can yield: ⊕Location

3. 03

   Look for dark periods

   Gaps in AIS near sanctioned ports or at sea can mean the transponder was switched off. Global Fishing Watch shows AIS gaps and vessel encounters. Satellite imagery from the gap window can confirm a ship-to-ship transfer.

   • Global Fishing Watchfreeacct optionalapidatasetdetails
   • Sentinel Hub EO Browserfreemiumacct optionalapidetails
   • Copernicus Browserfreeacct optionalapidetails

   → can yield: ⊕Location

4. 04

   Follow the owners

   Single-ship companies registered in secrecy jurisdictions are common. Run the owner and manager through the company playbook and sanctions screening.

   • OpenSanctionsfreemiumossapidatasetdetails
   • OpenCorporatesfreemiumacct optionalapidetails

   → can yield: ▤Company ☺Real name