Confirms where vessels really are. Satellite detections matched to vessel identities give you independent evidence behind every vessel position, even when ships stop broadcasting AIS.
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Know whether a vessel was where the AIS signal claimed. Each detection states how far the observed ship was from its AIS position at capture time, so small distances confirm the track.
Every record carries the distance in metres and a 0–100 match score from our AIS correlation, so you can filter to the matches you trust and act on positions you can prove.
Identify the ships worth a second look. A vessel seen far from where it reports itself can lead to unearthing useful trends of dark activity.
Set a distance threshold and route those cases to your compliance team or watch floor, so analysts spend time on the vessels that matter instead of scanning every track.
Keep continuity when the transponder stops reporting. Satellite fixes don’t depend on a ship choosing to transmit.
Matched detections place a vessel during AIS silence, so you can check what happened in the gap and keep a continuous record of where it was.
Turn validated positions into evidence you can stand behind. Use independent observations to help confirm AIS spoofing or GNSS interference, dark port calls and dark STS.
Each position links to a known vessel identity, so your sanctions, security and underwriting teams get an audit trail that stands up to regulators, banks and claims.
Evidence for every decision maker
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FAQ
The Vessel Observation API matches satellite vessel detection with AIS. Optical imagery is scanned for ship-sized objects, and each detection is tied to a known vessel through AIS correlation. Every record includes the vessel’s MMSI, IMO and name, a match score, and the distance to its AIS position.
Every record carries a correlation distance in metres and a 0–100 match score to provide a certainty factor. You can filter to your preference for example scores above 90.
No. It reports only correlated vessel positions, which means only vessels with a second source other than AIS. When using Kpler AIS or other APIs alongside Vessel Observation, records share the Kpler vessel ID, so reported and observed positions can join on a single key.
Yes. Independent positions can help confirm whether a reported position is false. Telling vessel-level spoofing from area-wide interference also needs broader context, as covered in our white paper, False Positions at Sea: Distinguishing AIS Spoofing from GNSS Interference
Filter by vessel (up to 600) or by area (up to 55,000 km²), for up to 366 days per call, using ECQL filters. Access is by REST, with JSON or CSV output, GET or POST, and the same v2 API key as our AIS data. You can generate your own key through the developer portal.
