Using OSINT to Unmask Invisible Threats to Our Oceans

Our oceans are vast and the further from land, the hazier ownership of the waters becomes which makes it easy to conceal the myriad of threats from oil/chemical spills and dumping to shipbreaking and illegal fishing. These activities pose a danger to the vibrant oceans full of millions of unique creatures, the food we eat, and the water we drink. This blog will discuss a few environmental threats to our ocean and how we can use Open-Source Information and Intelligence to uncover, expose, and address these threats. OSINT techniques combined with satellite imagery, vessel tracking, and social media analysis help us to build a more complete picture of what is truly going on.

The Threats

Shipbreaking
Shipbreaking involves breaking down a ship into parts for resale, often for large profits of roughly 3-10 million dollars per ship. However, this process poses great environmental and health risks as hazardous chemicals like mercury, lead, asbestos, and sulfuric acid are often released into the water and soil, endangering both workers and wildlife. Most developed countries have implemented laws to curb dangerous shipbreaking practices yet some companies intent on maximizing profits, try to circumvent regulations with tactics like flags of convenience or concealing travel routes to shipbreaking locations with lax or nonexistent laws. The Alang shipbreaking yard in India is considered one of the largest ship graveyards at roughly 8.7 miles of coastline and 183 shipbreaking yards. Chemistry World reports the following:

In 2015, a study from Taiwan looked at population data from 4427 shipbreaking workers and found that, from 1985 to 2008, 940 had died of cancer, with 436 more developing various forms of the disease; those with the highest exposure to asbestos were more likely than the general population to develop cancer overall, particularly of the oesophagus, liver, trachea and lungs.

Alang Shipbreaking Yard in India, 8.7 miles of coast

Illegal Fishing
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU Fishing) poses a significant threat to ecosystems, natural resources, and global food security. Certain fishing methods, such as trawling that involves dragging a net along the ocean floor, can result in the destruction of important seafloor ecosystems like coral reefs. Additionally, there’s a risk of ‘bycatch,’ where unintended species like dolphins, turtles, and sharks are caught in the net.

According to NOAA, illegal fishing happens through various means, including failure to report catches or providing false reports, keeping fish that fall outside regulations, fishing in closed areas or off-season, using prohibited fishing gear, and engaging in unauthorized transshipments or transfers to cargo vessels. Operators use tactics to skirt regulations, such as flags of convenience to gain access to new fishing areas, disabling the AIS (Automatic Identification System) tracking system to conceal their location, and offloading cargo to other vessels while mixing the catch to obfuscate illegal fishing activities.

Image from NOAA website of illegal trawling

Illegal Waste Dumping
Commercial shipping reportedly dumps nearly 800,000 tons of fuel and oil waste illegally into the ocean each year. Prior to 1972, before the U.S. passed the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA) and subsequent updates, various types of waste including industrial, radioactive, chemical, and sewage waste were freely dumped into our oceans. The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) serves as the main international convention addressing the pollution of the marine environment by ships.

Given the vastness of the ocean, authorities often face challenges in detecting illegal activities like bilge (oily wastewater) dumping at sea. The availability of satellite imagery and AIS tracking, however, has significantly improved the ability to uncover these illegal dumping activities.

VOA News aerial view shows a boat leaking oil in the waters near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In Seattle, a jury convicted a fisherman of similarly dumping oily pollution into the Pacific Ocean.

How Can We Fight Back Using OSINT?

Addressing ocean threats requires a collaborative effort involving not only authorities and NGOs but also citizens equipped with the capability to analyze these threats using open sources to develop intelligence that can assist. Among the most valuable tools for uncovering illegal activities in the ocean are satellite imagery, social media, and vessel tracking. Let’s explore the ways we can utilize each of these resources.

Satellite and Aerial Imagery

Shipbreaking

The implementation of satellite imagery can be used as an effective means of thwarting shipbreaking by helping authorities spot ships entering or exiting unregulated shipyards. In some cases, vessels leaving regulated zones, like Europe, may intentionally turn off their AIS to avoid tracking. Imagery is the most effective way to locate a ship that has deliberately disabled its AIS and it is particularly useful in identifying ships illegally beached at shipbreaking yards. A simple Google search provides key shipbreaking yards globally, helping to establish a system of ongoing monitoring to detect any changes. A few useful and free satellite options are soar.earth and Sentinel Hub EO Browser.

Beached vessel MT Tesla clearly visible at Chattogram breaking yard

Illegal Fishing
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a widespread issue, often involving small fishing vessels under 300 GT not required to use AIS by the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) regulations. While regional fishing management organizations are expanding these rules, many smaller vessels are still allowed to operate without broadcasting their location, making it challenging to track their activities. To combat this, organizations monitoring IUU fishing are turning to AI which when combined with satellite imagery, can detect the patterns in movement indicative of illegal fishing. Although this AI technology isn’t freely accessible, analysts can still rely on satellite, aerial imagery, and Satellite-based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data. Utilizing traditional satellite imagery allows us to identify vessels in restricted fishing areas, spot illegal equipment on board (trawlers), and potentially identify the fleet. SAR data, known for its ability to penetrate through clouds where traditional satellites struggle, is available through programs like NASA, Umbra’s Open Data Program and the European Space Agency, although the imagery is limited and navigation can be clunky.

Satellite imagery of ships engaged in pair trawling from Planet

Illegal Waste Dumping

Globally occurring illegal bilge water dumping poses a monitoring challenge. However, through the use of satellite and aerial imagery in targeted regions, we can pinpoint instances of bilge water dumping based using visual markers. For instance, the example below shows how bilgewater dumping appears as a long dark trail behind the offending vessel. Keeping an eye out for these kinds of patterns is a great way to spot this illicit activity. Combine this imagery with vessel tracking data and we are now able to pinpoint which vessel is the culprit.

92 mile long bilge dump from vessel Dona Liberta

Social Media Analysis

By analyzing various social media and forum platforms such as X, Reddit, and LinkedIn, we can leverage the information shared by users, revealing details about vessel ownership, patterns, locations, plans, and ownership. Social media proves to be particularly useful in the context of global illicit activities, as local analysts often post photos and information that would otherwise be inaccessible to us.

Illegal Shipbreaking / Fishing / Waste Dumping

In this section, I combined all 3 topics due to their similar processes. When targeting a specific region, it is beneficial to track specific users who share news from the area of interest to curate a feed tailored to our needs. It is crucial to verify all information sourced from social media, given its susceptibility to mis and disinformation. Instead of treating social media data as conclusive, I view it as a starting point for an investigation. Combining this information with additional context from satellite imagery, vessel tracks, and prior reports allows us to build a strong understanding of the situation.

An example of a post on IUU fishing that could be used to jumpstart an investigation into this vessel

Vessel Tracking

Tracking a vessel’s path by satellite is like shining a light on an otherwise obscured process. Originally designed to prevent collisions, AIS has evolved into a powerful tool, allowing companies to monitor their fleets and analysts a font-seat view of activity across the seas. These satellite signals not only broadcast a vessel’s location but also details like identity, weight, destination, speed, and messages like the one shown below about a ship being boarded in the Red Sea. While satellite tracking is not without its faults, it can be manipulated or turned off to obfuscate activities, when paired with other tools, it can be crucial for illuminating activities such as illegal transshipments, patterns in movement, and to verify our observations.

Reports of boarding a vessel in the Red Sea pulled from AIS data

Illegal Shipbreaking

Ship operators engaging in illegal shipbreaking activities may inadvertently expose their activities through AIS data. Using tools like Marine Traffic and Vessel Finder analysts can monitor the historical journey of ships headed to their final destination for recycling. Detecting patterns such as identity manipulation or the absence of AIS transmissions may signal that the vessel is headed to an unregulated shipbreaking yard. Integrating these findings with satellite imagery enables us to verify if a vessel departs from a regulated country and ends up beached in an unregulated yard. Keep in mind that free vessel trackers have limitations on the amount of historical data that can be accessed. For those working with a budget, premium tools like Windward or Starboard are recommended for deeper insights.

The Copernicus Maritime Surveillance service tracks a vessel from Europe to an
unregulated shipyard

Illegal Fishing

Similar to tracking shipbreaking activity, monitoring the movements of fishing vessels becomes possible when they broadcast their locations. AIS data not only reveals information on a vessel’s path but also provides insights into its speed, which may indicate the type of fishing the vessel is performing. Additionally, we the tracking system allows us to identify ship-to-ship (STS) transfers possibly signaling illegal transshipment between a fishing vessel and a cargo ship. As previously mentioned, fishing operators may attempt to conceal their illegal catches within a larger legal catch during a transshipment. In a case study, Hawkeye360 used a combination of RF signals and AIS signals to investigate Chinese fishing vessels near the Galapagos, they observed numerous fishing vessels were going dark as they entered the Galapagos EEZ, suggesting possible illegal fishing.

Global Fishing Watch map shows active vessels by map block

Illegal Waste Dumping

Similar to tracking illegal shipbreaking, AIS also proves useful for monitoring illegal dumping. Satellite resources help identify vessels engaged in bilgewater dumping by illuminating the trail of dark liquid the vessel leaves behind. The question then becomes “How do we identify which vessel is the culprit?” It is possible to determine the day and time the vessel is captured on satellite imagery and using AIS data, locate the ships broadcasting in that area. For instance, Sky Truth shows the vessel in the image below, dumping what appears to be bilge water. If this ship was unidentified, historical tracking data could assist in narrowing down potential candidates. However, it is worth noting that historical AIS has its limitations with data availability. Researching this particular vessel was impossible for me as the data I have access to only dates back to May 2020. However, once a vessel is identified, we can begin the process of corporate research using company data from sources like (opencorporates), contract data from (SAM), and web mentions to uncover ultimate ownership and beneficiaries.

Possible bilge water dumping by Arin 8 in southeast Asia posted by SkyTruth

Conclusion

With the constant barrage of threats to our oceans, OSINT can be used as a powerful and accessible tool to empower authorities, NGOs, and citizens to collaborate on exposing and addressing these environmental issues. Using OSINT analysis techniques in tandem with satellite imagery, social media analysis, and vessel tracking we can collectively monitor our oceans and keep their critical ecosystems safe.