Starboard Maritime Intelligence

World-leading maritime intelligence platform enabling governments, defence & industry to understand activity across the world’s oceans.

[The Insider @InsiderEng]

U.S. says it attacked a UAE-owned commercial vessel trying to break through the Iran maritime blockade

Lian Star’s AIS went dark in the Gulf of Oman on May 25, per @StarboardIntel. CENTCOM said it “disabled” the ship with a Hellfire missile on May 29.

https://t.co/SujMnjUvsQ

[Starboard Maritime Intelligence @StarboardIntel]

@Richard_AHolmes making use of Starboard Maritime Intelligence to track the TAGOR #IMO9282481 prior to her seizure by French forces.

The vessel’s AIS flag changed from Madagascar to Cameroon on 26 May (both are false). No P&I insurance and multiple sanctions.

[Richard Holmes 🕵🏻‍♂️ @Richard_AHolmes]

The Tagor left Russia towards the end of May and set sail westward.

On 26 May it then changed flag from Madagascar to Cameroon mid-voyage, making it subject to seizure under international law.

Worth noting that the Cameron register has been closed since February. False flag suspicions would have been confirmed by that move.

[Starboard Maritime Intelligence @StarboardIntel]

Original post from @SeaLightFound and @GordianKnotRay, with additional analysis by @supbrow.

Another example of Starboard enabling analysts and organisations to identify and highlight hybrid and grey zone warfare in the Indo-Pacifc, and globally.

[SeaLight @SeaLightFound]

🚨 HAPPENING NOW — 1st-ever US Coast Guard-Philippine Coast Guard joint patrol challenging PRC's exclusion zone at Scarborough Shoal

🇺🇸🇵🇭 For what appears to be the 1st time, a @USCG cutter is operating directly alongside the @coastguardph in a joint presence operation challenging Beijing's exclusion zone around #ScarboroughShoal (Bajo de Masinloc).

🛰️ Automatic Identification System tracking data from @StarboardIntel shows the USCG cutter Midgett sortieing from Manila Bay on 28 May alongside PCG cutter BRP Melchora Aquino & taking station on the western approaches to the shoal starting yesterday, 29 May and holding roughly 35-40 nm out.

🇵🇭 Also visible in the operation are PCG patrol vessel BRP Cabra & Bureau of Fisheries & Aquatic Resources BRP Datu Pagbuaya (now returning to Manila Bay, followed closely by CCG 21563). History suggests others may also be involved but operating "AIS-dark".

🇨🇳 Arrayed against them is a layered Chinese paramilitary cordon: at least 9 CCG cutters are visible on AIS forming an outer picket line 20-40nm from the shoal, while at least 7 large militia vessels are visible forming an inner cordon 5-17nm out.

🇨🇳 Past experience strongly suggests PLA Navy vessels (not visible on AIS) are also in the area, but will likely keep their distance to ensure no repeats of the disastrous 11 August 2025 "friendly fire" collision near Scarborough.

🤝 This direct involvement by the USCG in a Philippine challenge to China's maritime aggression inside the West Philippine Sea is a significant step forward for the alliance.

🎩 Hat-tip: thanks to friend-of-SeaLight @supbrow for tipping this to @GordianKnotRay!

[Starboard Maritime Intelligence @StarboardIntel]

@USNINews reporting activity near Scarborough Shoal

According to data posted by the @SeaLightFound, the American and Philippine vessels held activities around the Chinese-occupied maritime feature.

Sea Lights’s tool of choice - Starboard Maritime Intelligence

[USNI News @USNINews]

U.S. Coast Guard Patrols Near Scarborough Shoal with Philippine Forces Amid Concerns of Potential Chinese Build-Up — USNI News
https://t.co/IZbCGexQBM

[Starboard Maritime Intelligence @StarboardIntel]

https://t.co/VYVmODFkdL

“These gaps are significant,” Mark Douglas, an analyst for Starboard, told Mongabay and CNN in an email. He said the Chinese ship “demonstrates a deliberate pattern of operating in sensitive areas, outside the view of traditional tracking systems.”

[Starboard Maritime Intelligence @StarboardIntel]

“For data on the AIS-off events and movement near undersea cables, we obtained support from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, a platform utilized by government agencies, defense forces and critical infrastructure operators to analyze maritime risks”

https://t.co/TJtCprUF3Y

[Starboard Maritime Intelligence @StarboardIntel]

Reporting by @karadaniellefox @CNN and @ECAlberts @MongabayID

In November 2023, the Xiang Yang Hong 03 spent 48 hours doing survey work over a known trans-Pacific cable

Mark Douglas, a Starboard analyst called the vessel’s movements “a smoking gun”

https://t.co/9a7hjBbIAj

[SeaLight @SeaLightFound]

🚨 HAPPENING NOW — 1st-ever US Coast Guard-Philippine Coast Guard joint patrol challenging PRC's exclusion zone at Scarborough Shoal

🇺🇸🇵🇭 For what appears to be the 1st time, a @USCG cutter is operating directly alongside the @coastguardph in a joint presence operation challenging Beijing's exclusion zone around #ScarboroughShoal (Bajo de Masinloc).

🛰️ Automatic Identification System tracking data from @StarboardIntel shows the USCG cutter Midgett sortieing from Manila Bay on 28 May alongside PCG cutter BRP Melchora Aquino & taking station on the western approaches to the shoal starting yesterday, 29 May and holding roughly 35-40 nm out.

🇵🇭 Also visible in the operation are PCG patrol vessel BRP Cabra & Bureau of Fisheries & Aquatic Resources BRP Datu Pagbuaya (now returning to Manila Bay, followed closely by CCG 21563). History suggests others may also be involved but operating "AIS-dark".

🇨🇳 Arrayed against them is a layered Chinese paramilitary cordon: at least 9 CCG cutters are visible on AIS forming an outer picket line 20-40nm from the shoal, while at least 7 large militia vessels are visible forming an inner cordon 5-17nm out.

🇨🇳 Past experience strongly suggests PLA Navy vessels (not visible on AIS) are also in the area, but will likely keep their distance to ensure no repeats of the disastrous 11 August 2025 "friendly fire" collision near Scarborough.

🤝 This direct involvement by the USCG in a Philippine challenge to China's maritime aggression inside the West Philippine Sea is a significant step forward for the alliance.

🎩 Hat-tip: thanks to friend-of-SeaLight @supbrow for tipping this to @GordianKnotRay!

[Starboard Maritime Intelligence @StarboardIntel]

“@business analysis of data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence identified more than 100 Chinese vessels that passed within 10 nautical miles of Vietnamese-controlled sea features during the past year, nearly double the 57 vessels that did so from May 2022 to April 2023.”

[Richard Holmes 🕵🏻‍♂️ @Richard_AHolmes]

NEW: More than 200 sanctioned Russian tankers have sailed through UK waters since Sir Keir Starmer announced new powers to seize them.

Of those, 84 sanctioned tankers entered Britain’s territorial waters.

As GCHQ warned against the Kremlin’s daily attacks on the UK through sabotage, cyber attacks, and disinformation, the shadow fleet has continued to enjoy free passage past UK shores.

https://t.co/PswvzGMb2s

[Starboard Maritime Intelligence @StarboardIntel]

“The Russian-flagged tanker has resumed movement after drifting for nearly a month... However, instead of heading toward Cuba, it turned south, according to data provided to The Insider by the vessel-tracking service Starboard Maritime Intelligence.”

[The Insider @InsiderEng]

U.S. blocks Russian tanker from entering Cuba after month adrift in the Sargasso Sea

The Universal’s listed destination is now “for order,” meaning no final destination has been declared. The vessel is under a wide range of international sanctions.
https://t.co/qhjyM0NkoH

[Starboard Maritime Intelligence @StarboardIntel]

https://t.co/7DjxNSnKjm

[Starboard Maritime Intelligence @StarboardIntel]

Three questions on the table:

- Why hasn't more data translated into fewer incidents?
- What does behavioural analytics actually change for an operator on a watchfloor?
- And who is responsible for acting on early risk?

This is the conversation to be in the room for.

[The Insider @InsiderEng]

Russia’s FSB claims finding “NATO-manufactured” magnetic mines on natural gas carrier calling at port of Ust-Luga from Belgium

NATO has denied mining the vessel, while @StarboardIntel data indicates the ship's timeline matches the account of its captain.

https://t.co/3RPn4sDCbf

[Total Telecom @totaltelecom]

Working in the Persian Gulf has never been more challenging for submarine cable operators.

This article from @StarboardIntel explores how operators are facing these challenges and why early detection and prediction is so vital.

Read more here: https://t.co/Q2TWA384zg

[Starboard Maritime Intelligence @StarboardIntel]

@tampnet and Starboard Maritime Intelligence have unveiled the world’s first operational integration of fibre-optic sensing into a live AI-powered maritime intelligence platform, a move aimed at strengthening protection of critical subsea infrastructure.

[SplashTech @SplashTechNews]

Tampnet and Starboard bring fibre sensing into operational frontline https://t.co/99GhrmnCbj

[Starboard Maritime Intelligence @StarboardIntel]

Australia's strategic focus on the Indian Ocean is sharpening. IODS 2026 is where government, defence, and industry align on what comes next.

Our APAC Sales Manager, Richard Popple, will be in Perth at IODS across all three days.

Book time with him here: https://t.co/YXTwEJQFtx

[Starboard Maritime Intelligence @StarboardIntel]

We're at the 2026 NZ Hi-Tech Awards tonight — finalists for Emerging Company, Deep Tech Solution, and our CEO, Trent Fulcher, for Inspiring Individual. To all of the finalists - good luck. It is great to be among you.
#HTANZ
#DeepTech
#MaritimeTech
#NZTech
#MaritimeIntelligence

[Starboard Maritime Intelligence @StarboardIntel]

The authoritative analysis of what's happening in the Strait of Hormuz: @TheStudyofWar and @criticalthreats. The ship data: Starboard Maritime Intelligence.

[Critical Threats @criticalthreats]

NEW | Iran is likely using the ceasefire period to normalize Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz by compelling oil-importing countries to establish a bilateral transit agreement with Iran while charging fees from vessels that are not part of the bilateral deals.

These fees are framed as “security” fees, but the fees are in reality part of a mafia-esque protection racket in which the vessels pay Iran so that the Iranian navy can “secure” the vessels against an attack by the Iranian navy or Iranian shore-based missiles and drones.

A successful Iranian effort to normalize this structure would gradually increase the number of vessels moving through the strait to near pre-war levels.

This reduces the visible economic costs of restricted access and therefore weakens the primary argument for mobilizing US allies to help reopen the strait.

Iran’s normalization scheme could not be disrupted by a post-war “security” deployment by European states, as some countries have suggested.

Iran would likely attempt to stop, perhaps with force, any post-war “security force” if the war ends with an official or de facto recognition of Iranian sovereignty over the Strait.

[Jonathan Cheng @JChengWSJ]

Further south, in the East China Sea, more than 600 Chinese fishing boats assembled into a straight line for at least 18 hours on April 3, according to a Journal analysis of Starboard Maritime Intelligence ship-tracking data.
https://t.co/Ko9xB9csC9