What is Vessel Screening?

What is Vessel Screening?

Vessel screening is an essential part of compliance in global trade. It provides a control mechanism for banks, insurers, port authorities, and energy companies by identifying ships that may be involved in illegal activities. As illicit shipping tactics have become more advanced, it is crucial that organizations monitor vessels and prevent their involvement in prohibited transactions. To help you stay compliant, our team has prepared a full guide to maritime sanctions for you.

How to Conduct Vessel Screening?

Vessel screening typically involves the following steps:

• Checking vessel details like name, flag, and IMO number against global sanctions and watchlists to prevent business relationships with restricted entities
• Monitoring red flags such as irregular AIS (Automatic Identification System) signals and frequent ownership changes
• Detecting risky behaviors such as ship-to-ship (STS) transfers, unusual changes in routes, and flag hopping, which means rapidly changing vessel flag
• Verifying with official databases including OFAC, UN, EU, and local sanctions lists

Why Is Vessel Screening Important?

The maritime industry is frequently exploited to bypass international sanctions through deceptive practices such as changing shipping routes and manipulating vessel identity. Without proper screening, many organizations face serious consequences.

• Financial institutions may unknowingly fund vessels that are involved in illicit activities. In this scenario, they put themselves at serious risk that can lead to sanction violations, hefty fines, and legal consequences.
• Insurers could end up covering sanctioned cargo or vessels, unknowingly participating in their crimes, which could lead to compliance breaches and regulatory investigations.
• Exporters may violate trade restrictions, which can result in legal penalties, loss of trade licenses, and damaged business partnerships.
• Ports and logistics companies risk not only reputational damage but also regulatory penalties if they engage with prohibited shipments, vessels, or trade routes.

Key Regulatory Bodies Involved in Maritime Sanctions

Maritime sanctions are monitored by several prominent regulatory bodies around the world. Their collaborative efforts are for identifying violations, imposing sanctions, guiding the global maritime industry, and following compliance standards. The aim here is to uphold international law and prevent unlawful maritime activities. Below our team has summarized the primary organizations and their responsibilities:

Common Risk Indicators for Vessel Screening

• Irregular AIS Activity: Vessels may switch off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) or engage in false GPS activities by sending false location data. These tactics are commonly associated with attempts to conceal their illicit movements.
• Reflagging to High-Risk Jurisdictions: Vessels may change their flags to high-risk countries to obscure ownerships, which makes it more difficult to monitor their movements and intentions.
• Frequent Vessel Name Changes: This is a common tactic to avoid scrutiny and sanctions. That can make it challenging for authorities to track vessel activities.
• Suspicious Ship-to-Ship (STS) Transfers: Cargo transfers between vessels, especially those near sanctioned regions such as the Persian Gulf, may indicate attempts to hide illicit activities. Activities in this region require close monitoring.
• Operating Near Embargoed Ports: Vessels operating in ports such as Latakia (Syria), Hodeidah (Yemen), and Sevastopol (Crimea) may be involved in unlawful trade and should be flagged for further inspection.

Example Sanctioned Vessel List 2025

The following list of vessels are flagged by international sanctions as they are involved in illicit trace, sanctions evasion and violations of international law. Here our team provides you the list so that you can be alert to limit vessel operations and reinforce compliance with global maritime regulations.

How Does Vessel Screening Software Enhance Compliance?

In today’s rapidly changing regulatory environment, manual vessel screening is no longer sufficient. Organizations are increasingly relying on advanced vessel screening software so that they can effectively manage risks and fully meet global compliance standards. These systems provide a proactive approach by fulfilling the following standards:

• Monitor global vessel activity in real-time with up-to-date and accurate insight into their movements.
• Detect AIS manipulation and suspicious shipping behavior. This includes identifying red flags such as signal loss, manipulation, ship-to-ship (STS) transfers in restricted areas or unusual route deviations.
• Screen against sanctions lists by cross-matching IMO numbers, flags, and ownership structures so that you can efficiently uncover hidden risks.
• Generate real-time alerts for potential risk triggers. Automatically flag sanctioned vessels that could impact compliance.
• Maintain detailed records and provide historical data to support investigations.

Key Features to Look for in Vessel Screening Software

• API-based monitoring enables smooth integration with your existing systems and it provides real-time, automated vessel tracking.
• Comprehensive database access, including integration with OFAC, UN, EU, and MAS sanctions lists, ensures no potential risks go undetected.
• Support for STS (ship-to-ship) transfers and port activity tracking offers deeper analysis into potential risk factors.
• Ownership structure analysis, including UBO (ultimate beneficial ownership) matching, to uncover hidden ties to sanctioned entities or high-risk stakeholders.
• Fuzzy matching and multi-language name recognition, allowing for accurate identification of vessels, even with variations in spelling or transliteration.

By using advanced vessel screening software, organizations strengthen their sanctions compliance programs and build a proactive approach to managing risks in a complex maritime environment.

Example Tools

• Sanction Scanner
• Pole Star Maritime
• Windward
• Refinitiv World-Check Maritime

Who Needs Vessel Screening?

Vessel screening is a critical practice for organizations involved in global trade, shipping, and logistics. Companies must be prepared to fully comply with international sanctions, minimize reputational risks and prevent illicit activities such as smuggling or sanctions violations.

Whether they are shipping companies or financial institutions, vessel screening supports transparency, due diligence and compliance with international regulations. Our team has prepared an overview of the key industries where vessel screening matters.

By implementing advanced vessel screening measures, these industries can better protect their operations, ensure regulatory compliance, and contribute to a secure and transparent global maritime ecosystem.

Consequences of Inadequate Vessel Screening

Failure to screen and report high-risk maritime transactions can expose organizations to serious legal, financial, and reputational risks. Neglecting proper vessel screening can lead to the following consequences:

• Severe Financial Penalties: Regulatory violations can exceed $20 million in some cases, depending on the nature and severity of the breach.
• Significant Reputational Damage: Associated with illicit maritime activity can damage credibility and result in distrust between companies and customers, business partners, and regulators.
• Loss of Trade Licenses or Banking Access: Non-compliance may result in loss of trade licenses or denial of banking services, which disrupts daily operations and international business flows.
• Termination of Correspondent Banking Relationships: Banks can limit access to global financial networks.
• Denial of Insurance Claims: If there is a maritime incident, insurance providers may reject claims, leaving the business financially vulnerable.

How Can Sanction Scanner Simplify Vessel Screening?

Sanction Scanner takes the complexity out of maritime compliance by providing an all-in-one vessel screening solution tailored for today’s fast-paced regulatory environment. Here’s how it helps organizations streamline operations and strengthen compliance:

• Automated global monitoring continuously tracks thousands of vessels in real time, delivering up-to-date insights on ship movements and instantly flagging suspicious or high-risk behavior.
• Sanctions screening automatically verifies vessel information analyzing IMO numbers, flag states, and ownership structures. In this process, our team screens against all global sanctions lists, including OFAC, UN, EU, and MAS.
• Advanced risk detection identifies suspicious behaviors such as AIS manipulation, ghosting, suspicious ship-to-ship (STS) transfers, reflagging, and port visits in high-risk regions.
• Ownership transparency systems detect ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) and find out if individuals/entities are involved in illicit activities.
• Seamless integration easily integrates into your existing systems through API, which enables fast implementation and smooth workflow.
• Audit-Ready reporting generates and stores detailed historical screening data to support regulatory audits.

Ready to strengthen your maritime compliance?

Request a demo today with Sanction Scanner and our team will provide you with full compliance at speed and 100% accuracy.