Maritime data provider Kpler has teamed up with Airbus to enhance its vessel tracking capabilities, especially for ships that go off the radar of regular tracking systems. This will include daily satellite images that help identify ships not using reliable Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals.
The partnership, announced on Tuesday, will merge imagery from Airbus’s SPOT Earth observation satellites with Kpler’s current vessel-tracking network. This integration will allow analysts to spot ships without relying solely on their reported AIS positions.
The new service will use high-resolution satellite images, featuring a resolution of 1.5 meters and covering a 60-kilometer area, along with artificial intelligence to identify vessels at sea and in ports.
This technology aims to tackle a growing issue in maritime tracking: figuring out if a vessel has intentionally shut off or tampered with its AIS signal, or if its reported position has been disrupted by interference with satellite navigation systems.
This clarification is crucial as AIS spoofing, GPS jamming, and other forms of electronic interference make vessel tracking more complicated, especially in busy shipping lanes and conflict areas.
While some ships may manipulate their positions to hide their movements, others might indicate incorrect locations due to pervasive Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) interference affecting several vessels in the same vicinity.
By comparing AIS data with satellite imagery, Kpler believes it can more effectively differentiate between deliberate manipulation and external interference.
Jean-Charles Gordon, Kpler’s vice president of maritime and logistics, stated, “No single data source tells the whole story.”
Gordon explained that merging AIS data with satellite imagery and other independent sources will provide shipping companies and governments with a clearer view of maritime activities, especially when vessels go missing from electronic tracking systems.
This enhanced capability might also help monitor sanction violations and so-called “shadow fleet” operations, where ships may alter or turn off AIS signals to hide their movements.
In an earlier review of AIS spoofing and GNSS interference, Kpler identified several areas, including the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Black Sea, Baltic Sea, and Red Sea, that suffer from navigation-signal interference. The company has stressed the need to differentiate between intentional AIS manipulation and external interference when assessing sanction compliance and marine insurance risks.
AIS continues to be the main method for tracking commercial shipping. It sends information like a vessel’s position, speed, route, and destination. Kpler states that its existing network processes billions of AIS messages every day.
The collaboration with Airbus adds another layer of information that does not rely on AIS transmissions, enabling analysts to verify a vessel’s actual location even when its electronic data is absent or unreliable.
The companies have not revealed financial terms or specified when this new detection service will be fully operational.