The number of fishing vessels changing between two ‘passports’ – one real and one fake – to disguise illegal and over fishing is increasing, according to a new report.
Over the years, data manipulation by ships worldwide has become a real problem, but a new form of data manipulation, ‘Identity Switching’, is growing still.
According to new research by Windward, the number of vessels engaged in Identity Switching was 400% higher in the first quarter of 2015 than it was in the same period in 2014.
A vessel’s identity, as reported on AIS, has four main identities: name, call sign, MMSI number and IMO number. The IMO number is considered to be the vessel’s strongest identifier since it is a unique number that a vessel is supposed to keep throughout its lifetime. The report says while the majority of identity fraud cases are partial and include vessels changing their MMSI, leaving the original IMO number, the growing trend of Identity Switching involves taking on a completely false identity – including a false, stolen or even missing IMO number.
According to the research, of those vessels engaging in Identity Switching, 80% did so for at least 30 days, suggesting false identity was used for at least one voyage. In addition, more than 50% of vessels engaged in Identity Switching for 90 days or more, indicating that the practice is more common for vessels on journeys including fishing and trading activities.
The two main incentives for Identity Switching are financial – to overcome trade sanctions – and criminal – to cover up illegal fishing. But, Windward says it’s almost impossible for authorities to detect.
Going forward, Windward says the trend will continue to rise as ships, and those who send them, become increasingly aware that AIS data is being used to track vessels, and taking AIS data ‘as is’ is “a dangerous game of chance for anyone with stakes at sea”.
Israel-based Windward combines big data analytics and deep shipping expertise to understand ship activity worldwide.
