How SkyFi AIS Helps Identify Dark Ships and Maritime Spoofing
What Is AIS and Why Is It Relevant for Ship Tracking? AIS, or Automatic Identification System, is a standardized system used by ships to broadcast their identity, position, and movement. It helps prevent collisions and provides transparency into maritime activity. Defense and intelligence teams use AIS to track vessel behavior, monitor high-risk zones, and flag unusual activity.
However, some vessels intentionally hide from AIS surveillance. They may spoof their identity, broadcast false data, or turn off AIS entirely. These actions are common in sanctions evasion, illegal fishing, and gray zone operations. SkyFi AIS helps analysts detect and investigate this behavior.
What Does Spoofing or AIS-Off Behavior Look Like?
Spoofing involves transmitting false AIS information—such as a fake location or identity—to mislead observers. Some ships pretend to be other vessels. Others claim to be in one location while physically appearing in another.
AIS-off behavior means a vessel stops broadcasting altogether. A ship may go dark when entering sensitive areas, conducting covert transfers, or operating illegally. When this happens, traditional AIS systems lose track completely.
SkyFi helps fill these gaps by combining data from satellite, terrestrial, and ship-based receivers. Our multi-source feed gives analysts more chances to catch spoofing and identify when ships go silent.
How Vessel-Borne AIS Fills Visibility Gaps
SkyFi includes a vessel-borne AIS layer collected from ships with onboard receivers. These ships act as sensors in areas where satellite and coastal receivers struggle—especially in busy zones where spoofed or hidden ships are more likely to operate.
When a dark vessel passes near one of these mobile sensors, its signal is captured—even if no other system detects it. This improves surveillance in congested regions like the Singapore Strait or South China Sea.
How Can Analysts Infer Hidden Activity?
Even if a ship disables its AIS, SkyFi helps analysts build a case by studying:
Last known position and timing
Historical co-travel patterns with known vessels
Gaps between transmissions
Reappearance patterns and locations
If a ship disappears near a known rendezvous point, then reappears with altered data, SkyFi’s clean AIS history helps analysts investigate and model likely scenarios. Repeated co-travel with the same partner vessel may signal transshipment or illicit transfer behavior.
SkyFi for Pattern-of-Life and Anomaly Detection
SkyFi provides AIS data going back to 2018. Analysts can use this archive to build vessel profiles, detect behavioral shifts, and support enforcement cases. All data is cleaned, deduplicated, and delivered in formats ready for analysis.
How to Use SkyFi AIS
Select a region and date in the SkyFi app.
Access current or historical AIS for analysis.
Download as CSV or connect via API.
No subscription required.
FAQ
Can I identify spoofed ships with SkyFi AIS? You can identify suspicious gaps, location anomalies, and repeated spoofing behavior using SkyFi’s clean multi-source feed.
What about dark ships that never reappear? Even if a ship does not return to AIS broadcasting, co-travel data, historical routes, and nearby vessel behavior can help infer actions during the blackout.
Is this only for analysts? No. SkyFi AIS is used by defense, intelligence, ports, insurance teams, and maritime researchers.