Published by Splash247

A new online platform developed by researchers at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) is allowing anyone to monitor vessel movements in Danish waters, including ships attempting to conceal their activities by switching off tracking systems.

The free platform, called OpenOceanWatch, combines satellite imagery, artificial intelligence and open maritime databases to identify and track vessels operating across Danish waters. The project was developed by Peder Heiselberg, a postdoctoral researcher at DTU Space.

“We don’t always have the opportunity to keep track of what’s happening at sea,” Heiselberg said. “That’s why I wanted to create a tool where anyone can freely access and view activity in Danish waters.”

The system automatically compares satellite observations with vessels’ Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals. Ships with matching AIS data are marked as verified traffic, while vessels detected without an identifiable signal are highlighted in red as potential “ghost ships”.

Under Danish regulations, AIS transponders are mandatory for merchant vessels above 300 gt, passenger ships and fishing vessels longer than 15 m. However, Heiselberg stressed that not every unidentified vessel is necessarily operating illegally.

“These could, for example, be vessels involved in illegal fishing. However, not all vessels are legally required to have a transponder on board,” he said.

The AI behind the platform has been trained using thousands of satellite images and can distinguish ships from offshore installations, waves and other maritime features.

Heiselberg believes the tool could prove useful for journalists, businesses and investigators examining incidents involving critical infrastructure such as subsea cables, pipelines and offshore wind farms.

“If a cable on the seabed is damaged, or something happens to an offshore installation, you can see which vessels have been in the area, including those trying to hide,” he said.

The launch comes amid growing concern about maritime security in the Baltic following a series of incidents involving critical subsea infrastructure.