Tankers from Russia’s “shadow fleet” begin avoiding UK waters, leading to unprecedented number of ships seen off the west coast of Ireland
Five tankers spotlighted by @irishtimes.com sailed past Ireland in convoy, likely to avoid detention. @starboardintelligence.com data shows them near Gibraltar.
Thanks to David Seymour @dbseymour.bsky.social for taking the time to meet with us and hear more about the opportunities ahead for NZ and the wider maritime industry.
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Rear Admiral Mike Brookes, US Office of Naval Intelligence: the data "enables submarine navigation, concealment, and positioning of seabed sensors or weapons."
Nine naval experts reviewed the findings. The US Navy's asymmetric advantage in ocean knowledge is under documented pressure.
The Dong Fang Hong 3 alone surveyed waters near Taiwan, Guam, and Malacca Strait approaches. Chinese sensor arrays documented along the Ninety East Ridge in the Indian Ocean — astride one of the world's critical maritime chokepoints.
Forty-two Chinese research vessels. Five years. Three oceans.
Reuters traced the operation using Starboard Maritime Intelligence's ship-tracking platform. www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Great to continue our work with @irishtimes.com and @conorgallagher.bsky.social highlighting the grey zone and hybrid warfare threats facing Ireland and Europe. Starboard data enabled the accurate tracking of the vessels activities, including port calls.
The deterrent effect was immediate -- but five sanctioned ships were still transiting the Channel at time of publication, two flying Russian flags. The longer route around Scotland adds cost, but the shadow fleet has options. @maritimekiwi.bsky.social
#MaritimeSecurity #MaritimeIntelligence
Six sanctioned Russian tankers diverted from the English Channel hours after the UK authorised vessel seizure powers. @richardholmes.bsky.social
inews.co.uk/news/putins-...
"A deliberate pattern of operating in sensitive areas, outside the view of traditional tracking systems." @maritimekiwi.bsky.social's analysis of China's deep-sea mining fleet with @mongabay.com & @cnn.com — 8 vessels, 5 years, more military activity than mining.
www.starboardintelligence.com
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“In tracing this effort, Reuters… analyzed more than five years of movement by 42 research vessels active in the Pacific, Indian or Arctic oceans using a ship-tracking platform built by New Zealand company @starboardintelligence.com”
Imagery captured from a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) — a radar mounted on a satellite that sends pulses to Earth to track changes in terrain and physical structures — also indicates the Ocean Guardian was not where its tracking data claimed it was.
The tanker is completely still — which Mr Douglas said could be a sign it was attempting to hide its real position.
"All the vessels around it are swinging on their anchors," he said... But this vessel seems to be completely resistant to all forces of nature."
ABC NEWS Verify obtained tracking data via @starboardintelligence.com — a ship-tracking company.
Cargo tanker Ocean Guardian, together with another vessel owned by the same company, completed at least 30 shipments from Iran in 2025, according to analyst @maritimekiwi.bsky.social.
Sanctioned Russian LNG carrier Arctic Metagaz catches fire in the Mediterranean Sea
Data from @starboardintelligence.com showed the ship stopped transmitting an AIS signal on the evening of March 2 as it exited Malta’s exclusive economic zone.
GPS jamming is yet another threat to shipping in the Gulf.
“The development, picked up from maritime monitoring data and sharp “jumps” in the routes depicted on electronic maps, was shared with The Insider by analysts from the Starboard Maritime Intelligence.”
According to data from @starboardintelligence.com, the ship arrived in the port of St. Petersburg on Jan. 16 after sailing from the Egyptian port of Damietta, then headed back out to sea before being detained off Denmark’s coast.
Congratulations to @osc-london.bsky.social for this in-depth report. The team used Starboard data, along with other sources, to identify dredgers and other vessels in the area of interest and to track their movements between visits.
stories.opensourcecentre.org/coral-to-con...
The majority of the vessels are crude oil carriers that appear to be operating between Iran and China… conducting ship-to-ship transfers and other movements designed to hide the true origin of the oil… said @maritime ekiwi.bsky.social of Starboard Maritime Intelligence.
www.dw.com/en/tonga-coo...
“Analysis of AIS data from commercial provider Starboard Maritime Intelligence indicates that while China’s overall patrol volume has increased compared to 2024… showing a clear reallocation of CCG resources toward flashpoints between China and the Philippines.”
amti.csis.org/eyes-on-the-...
There has undoubtedly been a lull in shadow fleet (and ex-shadow fleet, now Russian) tankers entering the Baltic. But that’s going to end soon and I think INA #IMO9308443is is going to be the first big test of resolve following the recent announcement by the Coastal States of the North Sea.
France seizes suspected Russian “shadow fleet” tanker Grinch in the Mediterranean Sea
@starboardintelligence.com data reviewed by The Insider showed that the ship had changed flags five times over the past two years and only changed its name from “Carl” to “Grinch” last April.
Here's a link to the Starboard platform where you can see 1,000 of the vessels involved in the 11 January event: app.starboard.nz/link/31jtkam...
Details now available without a paywall at @militarnyi.com
bsky.app/profile/mili...
As noted in the article, reliable data is the counter to grey-zone ambiguity.
Detecting these anomalies requires persistent, multi-source Maritime Domain Awareness—looking beyond the dots on a screen to understand the intent behind the behaviour.
#MaritimeSecurity #MDA #GreyZone #Starboard #NYT
Read the full investigation by The New York Times: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Starboard analyst @maritimekiwi.bsky.social noted the anomaly: “The sight of that many vessels operating in concert is staggering" adding "We have never seen a formation of this size and discipline before."
A 290-mile wall of ships.
Watch as 1,700+ vessels move in the East China Sea (23–28 Dec). @nytimes.com reports this as a "quietly mobilized" barrier.
Starboard Maritime Intelligence provided the data verification behind this analysis. 🧵
Cook Islands had since de-registered many of the most dubious vessels, Douglas said, but there were "some left that have question marks over them".
"It certainly seemed at its peak that it was 'pay to play'," said Douglas, now an analyst for Starboard Maritime Intelligence.
"If you turned up with some good paperwork and the cheque cleared, you were able to get the Cook Islands' flag."
