Overview#
A financial intelligence analyst receives a tip that a sanctioned entity is using a shipping company to move goods through a third country. She opens the Supply Chain domain and runs the company name through the vessel tracking and corporate profile data. Within minutes she can see the fleet of vessels associated with that company, their recent port calls, flag changes in the last six months (a classic sanctions evasion indicator), and the corporate network showing two beneficial ownership links to known sanctioned persons. She then checks the trade transaction data for over-invoicing patterns on the relevant trade routes. The Supply Chain domain brings together all of this maritime and trade intelligence in one place, connected to the broader investigation record.
Key Features#
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Vessel Tracking and Intelligence: Monitor vessel positions, routes, and port calls using automatic identification system data to track maritime movements and identify anomalous behaviour patterns.
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TBML Anomaly Detection: Analyse trade transactions for patterns indicative of trade-based money laundering including over/under-invoicing, phantom shipments, and unusual trade routes.
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Port Operations Monitoring: Track vessel arrivals, departures, and cargo operations at ports worldwide to build a comprehensive picture of trade flows and logistics patterns.
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Trade Transaction Analysis: Analyse commercial trade data including bills of lading, invoices, and customs declarations to identify irregularities and build trade intelligence.
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Company Profile Intelligence: Maintain profiles of shipping companies, freight forwarders, and trading entities with relationship mapping to identify corporate networks and beneficial ownership.
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Reference Data Library: Access comprehensive reference data including global port directories, airport codes, and harmonised system product codes to enrich trade analysis.
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Network Visualisation: Map relationships between vessels, ports, companies, and transactions in a network graph to reveal hidden connections and trade patterns.
Use Cases#
Maritime trade intelligence is essential wherever financial crimes intersect with global logistics. Key industries include financial intelligence and anti-money laundering, customs and border enforcement, and defence and maritime security.
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Trade-Based Money Laundering Investigation: Identify and investigate TBML schemes by analysing trade patterns, pricing anomalies, and corporate networks involved in suspicious trade flows.
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Sanctions Evasion Detection: Track vessel movements and corporate relationships to identify potential sanctions evasion through flag changes, ship-to-ship transfers, and complex ownership structures.
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Maritime Domain Awareness: Monitor vessel traffic patterns, port activity, and trade routes to support maritime security and law enforcement operations.
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Supply Chain Due Diligence: Evaluate the integrity of supply chains by analysing trade patterns, company profiles, and logistics networks for risk indicators.
Integration#
The Supply Chain domain connects with investigative and intelligence capabilities:
- Investigation Management: Supply chain findings link to active investigations
- Sanctions Screening: Vessel and company data feed into sanctions checks
- Profile Management: Company and vessel profiles enrich entity intelligence
- Threat Intelligence: Trade anomalies contribute to threat assessments
Open Standards#
- ITU-R M.1371 (Automatic Identification System): Vessel positions, MMSI identifiers, and Class A/B position reports are ingested, stored, and surfaced directly using the AIS message structure defined by this ITU standard.
- IMO Vessel Numbering Scheme: Each vessel record carries an IMO number in accordance with the International Maritime Organisation's unique, permanent vessel identification standard, enabling reliable identity resolution across flag changes.
- UN/LOCODE (United Nations Code for Trade and Transport Locations): Port records are keyed by UN/LOCODE, allowing unambiguous cross-referencing of origin and destination ports in shipment and port-call data.
- WCO Harmonised System (HS Codes): Trade transactions and product profiles are classified using the World Customs Organisation Harmonised System commodity codes, underpinning TBML price-anomaly detection against reference pricing data.
- ISO 3166-1 Alpha-3 Country Codes: Vessel flags, port countries, airport registrations, and company domiciles all use the ISO 3166-1 three-letter country code, providing a consistent geographic identifier across every domain model.
- ICAO and IATA Airport Codes: Airport reference data carries both ICAO four-letter and IATA three-letter codes, supporting multi-modal shipment segment routing for air-freight legs alongside maritime movements.
- GraphQL (June 2018 specification): All supply chain queries, mutations, and real-time subscriptions are exposed through a typed Strawberry GraphQL schema, enabling structured access to vessel, trade, and port intelligence from frontend and API consumers.
Last Reviewed: 2026-02-05 Last Updated: 2026-04-14