Eight OFAC-sanctioned Iranian tankers are converging on Malaysia's EOPL. Seven are dark, one resurfaced after 28 days off radar. Windward assesses the group for ship-to-ship transfer here before continuing to China. Per Vortexa, the fleet has loaded 8.56 million barrels of Iranian crude in 2026.

171K+ vessels jammed in Q2. 3.3M+ false STS meetings recorded. Marine insurers must look beyond unverified AIS data and documents. Insurers need behavioral intelligence at every stage to price risk accurately. https://okt.to/jmk326

A 2nd Qatari LNG carrier hit in a month. GASLOG SHANGHAI was struck ~11nm NE of Limah, Oman on Jul 31. The IRGC separately claims it disabled 2 more tankers under U.S. escort. What we tracked before the strike: https://okt.to/5yefNa

🚨 Italian navy boarded the sanctioned tanker TOA PAYOH (IMO 9298492) west of Pantelleria on Aug 2 under Operation IRINI — the 2nd EU flag verification boarding in 12 days. 18 Russia shadow fleet tankers boarded by European forces since Dec 2024, 15 this year.

6 Saudi-flagged tankers detected routing via the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Houthi blockade. One Taiwan-to-Yanbu voyage nearly doubling, from ~24 to ~56 days. Details here: https://okt.to/Lk4ryT

GASLOG SHANGHAI, carrying Qatari LNG, struck in Hormuz on Jul 31, the 2nd hit on Qatari LNG cargo 1 month. 4 Saudi tankers struck in the Red Sea, but 22 Chinese-linked vessels crossed Bab el-Mandeb unharmed. https://okt.to/UMivDo

EO imagery of Hodeidah before and after the July 24-25 strike shows port activity rising. Four vessels explain why, including one tracing a Malaysia-Somalia-Djibouti-Hodeidah route, a known smuggling pattern. https://okt.to/f4cwgU

Nearly half of Saudi Arabia's Yanbu crude now moves north via SUMED or Suez, not south through Bab el Mandeb, after Houthi forces banned Saudi cargo on July 19. Some VLCCs shuttle crude to Ain Sukhna dark on AIS, while others load at Sidi Kerir. Chinese ships still pass uninterrupted.

A Chinese-flagged bulk carrier sailed Bab el-Mandeb to Jeddah untouched while the Houthis hit Saudi-linked ships at the same ports. No dark activity. It broadcast "CHINA SHIP CREW" on AIS through the chokepoint. Selective enforcement, in the open.

Saudi tanker NCC GHAZAL was reportedly struck by Houthi forces on July 28. Beforehand, a 7-day AIS blackout off Yemen, multiple ship-to-ship transfers, repeated destination changes. Windward's risk models flagged it as a likely target two days before the strike. Behavior tells the story first.

15 LNG tankers are currently sailing toward India. • 2 are already in Indian waters and 2 more are arriving within days. • 3 remain stuck in the Arabian Gulf. • 7 are weeks away from Africa and the Americas. Supply is now operating on a razor-thin margin.

Strait of Hormuz transit dropped 80% in 24 hours. 📉 It's not just the strikes, it's the insurance. With P&I clubs cancelling war risk extensions and premiums surging to 1%, the waterway is effectively closed by risk assessment. windward.ai/blog/role-of...

Maritime enforcement is accelerating. Boardings, safety-based intervention, and access denial are now applied across regions, not single theaters. This week’s Maritime Defense Weekly highlights the signals driving the shift. windward.ai/blog/maritim...

Maritime Enforcement Accelerates Across Global Shipping

Maritime enforcement is shifting from monitoring to action, with safety, access controls, and behavior-led interdictions reshaping global shipping risk.

windward.ai

High-seas boardings, false-flag liability, and safety-driven intervention are unfolding faster, across more jurisdictions, and with fewer constraints. This week’s Maritime Defense Weekly highlights the growing enforcement velocity and key developments at sea. windward.ai/blog/maritim...

Maritime Defense Weekly: Maritime Enforcement Accelerates

Maritime enforcement is accelerating, with tanker boardings, European interdictions, and safety failures exposing shadow fleet risk across key sea lanes.

windward.ai

Russian crude hasn't disappeared from EU energy markets. It has moved upstream. Windward's report analyzes how India, China, and Turkey processed 1.17B barrels of Russian crude in 2025, feeding EU-bound refined products ahead of the EU’s 18th sanctions package. windward.ai/knowledge-ba...

EU 18th Sanctions Package Exposure Report on Russian Oil

Analysis of EU sanctions exposure from Russian crude and refined product flows via India, China, and Turkey, highlighting high-risk refineries and vessels.

windward.ai

The fall of Maduro and the EU’s 18th sanctions package mark a structural shift in maritime compliance. List-based screening no longer protects against seizures, interdictions, or molecule-level bans. What changed, and what compliance now requires: windward.ai/blog/maduros...

Venezuela’s Fall and the EU's 18th Sanctions Package

With the capture of Maduro & the EU’s Jan 21 refined product ban, global oil trade faces an unprecedented crisis. Learn how to navigate compliance in this era.

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Sanctions tightened and Russia adapted. Windward tracking shows EU-owned tankers regained share of Russian oil shipments in December as prices fell below the cap and new trading structures emerged. windward.ai/blog/eu-owne...

Sanctioned and fleeing tanker Marinera, as seen in this Windward remote sensing SAR image in the North Atlantic on January 6. A smaller vessel is also visible, possibly in pursuit.

Tanker Bella 1 is attempting to evade a U.S. blockade by repainting a Russian flag and claiming protection at sea. Windward has also observed other sanctioned VLCCs making U-turns near Venezuela, signaling widening disruption to oil exports. windward.ai/blog/tanker-...

Windward AI has identified six high risk tankers including the BELOMOR and JUMBO adopting a coastal hugging strategy near Türkiye. These sanctioned vessels are betting that proximity to shore will prevent strikes. Data shows the dark fleet is under pressure. windward.ai/blog/russian...

Undersea cables carry 99 percent of global data. They are exposed, lightly monitored, and increasingly targeted. Infrastructure sabotage now hides behind “routine” maritime activity. Detecting it requires visibility beyond AIS. windward.ai/blog/protect...

The dark fleet is not a vessel problem. It is a network problem. AIS manipulation, false flags, and shell ownership are coordinated across fleets to move sanctioned oil at scale. Vessel-by-vessel monitoring misses the system behind the activity. windward.ai/blog/what-is...

FREESIA 1 (IMO 9159660) is transmitting near Venezuela. Windward’s Remote Sensing Intelligence confirms the vessel was physically scrapped in Bangladesh in 2021. This is what zombie vessels look like in practice. go.wnwd.com/how-zombie-v...

AIS was built for safety, not deception. As spoofing and dark activity scale globally, Windward's Remote Sensing Intelligence delivers the answer by fusing SAR, EO, RF, and behavioral analytics to provide the verified visibility you need. windward.ai/blog/why-mar...

Port operations in the UK and Canada slowed this week as weather, rail issues, and a container spill added pressure. Follow for more port insights.

From @apnews.com: "The Skipper’s final weeks hiding in the Caribbean were reconstructed by Windward, which uses satellite imagery relied on by U.S. officials mapping the movements of the dark fleet." Thank you to AP, @washingtonpost.com, & @skynewsrss.bsky.social for surfacing our intel to readers.

The U.S. seizure of Skipper and Ukraine’s targeted drone strikes show a clear shift. Flagless dark-fleet tankers are becoming active enforcement targets. Nearly 400 falsely flagged ships are now exposed. Full context: windward.ai/blog/the-dar...

In 2025: More than 24,000 vessels faced GPS jamming. Over 1,000 ships were sanctioned. Manual systems could not keep up. See the trends shaping 2026 and why technology will determine who stays ahead: windward.ai/blog/2025-ma...

2025 Maritime Stress Test: Why AI Was the Differentiator

In 2025, every quarter brought disruption. Discover how Maritime AI™ helped organizations adapt to spoofing, sanctions, and shifting global trade flows.

windward.ai

2025 ends in the dark. This month’s MariTIMES provides the intelligence you need to see ahead into 2026. www.linkedin.com/pulse/from-v...

From Venezuela to the Black Sea: Intelligence You Need Before 2026

U.S.

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Gambia is removing Russia-trading tankers from its flag as pressure grows on permissive registries used by the dark fleet. Twenty vessels are now falsely flagged, with more expected. Windward data shows how the crackdown is shifting tanker flows: windward.ai/blog/gambia-...