maritime AIS · sanctions / dark vessel — quick-start

checklist

1. identify the vessel: IMO number, MMSI, call sign, and flag state — MMSI and IMO are stable; vessel name and flag can be changed.
2. pull AIS track history from at least two providers (MarineTraffic, VesselFinder, Spire) for the period in question — gaps may be dark-vessel behavior or receiver coverage gaps; two sources disambiguate.
3. note the exact UTC timestamps of any AIS signal gaps, position jumps, or last-known-position events — these are the primary evidence.
4. pull the vessel's port call history from Lloyd's, Equasis, or UNHCR data for the investigation period.
5. check the vessel against current OFAC SDN list, EU consolidated list, and UN Security Council sanctions list — note listing date relative to the suspected voyage.
6. pull the vessel's ownership and beneficial ownership chain from Equasis or Lloyd's — sanctioned beneficial owners are the legal exposure, not just the flagged vessel.
7. note any name, flag, or MMSI changes in the vessel's history — spoofing and reflagging are common evasion methods.
8. preserve the AIS data exports as CSV with metadata — lat/lon, speed, heading, status, receiver ID, timestamp.
9. identify the voyage ports and transit states — sanctions exposure depends on where the vessel called, not just what it carried.
10. begin the primary tool path below — AIS track analyzer and sanctions cross-reference tool.

primary tools

1. 01marinetraffic ais export forensic analyzerdrop marinetraffic ais csv · mmsi/imo track · sog jump · dark gap · runs locally
2. 02vesselfinder vessel track export forensic analyzerdrop vesselfinder csv · kml track · vessel_id · mmsi sog gap · runs locally
3. 03spire maritime ais csv forensic analyzerdrop spire ais csv · collection_timestamp · rot sog gap · runs locally
4. 04ais spoofing detection from receiverdrop ais receiver log + position consistency rules · detect spoofed transponders · runs locally
5. 05ship to ship transfer detection from aisdrop ais data · detect ship-to-ship transfer patterns · runs locally
6. 06vessel ownership obfuscation chain detectormerge registry · ais static · sts json · flag/name change · dark period · indicator only
7. 07case report generatorfill in case number · examiner · dates · findings · drop evidence files for auto hash · generates structured forensic report PDF · runs locally

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