Vessel detection from space

Vessels that do not want to be found

A dark target at sea can be an object adrift, someone who has turned off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponder accidentally or someone who intentionally wants to hide. These can all threaten critical infrastructure assets at sea, whether it is accidental or malicious. Monitoring the entire Norwegian Continental Shelf to identify dark targets takes time and resources. And if you don’t know where to search, it is difficult to identify potential threats.

Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) detects, classifies and identifies vessels

KSAT can monitor the entire Norwegian Continental Shelf several times per day. This is cost efficient compared to aerial or sea based vessel detection systems. The KSAT Vessel Detection Service is designed to find vessels that might be engaged in illegal activity, harm the environment and make the seas unsafe. Vessel detection reports can be ingested into an Integrated Maritime Awareness Interface.

We provide...

- Analyzed reports available in near real-time after image acquisition (10 –30 min)
- KSAT utilizes every relevant SAR and AIS satellites
- A world class out-of-the-box service, already being delivered today to customers all over the globe
- Weather independent service, available 24/7/365

Subsea Pipeline Patrol Uncovers Potential Threat.

A Hugin Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (1) is patrolling a vital subsea pipeline on the seabed. It discovers an object in the previously mapped seabed next to the pipeline. When the Hugin resurfaces, operators check the data and see that it looks like an explosive device.

They check the KSAT satellite feed (2) on their Integrated Maritime Awareness Interface (3) and discover that six ships have crossed close enough to the site in the time since the last patrol. One of these vessels was sailing without the Automatic Identification System (AIS) and has therefore become the prime suspect.

The system identifies the vessel that turned off its AIS, and operators immediately alert all necessary authorities to apprehend the vessel and investigate the explosive device.