DETECTING SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITIES AT SEA USING SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR (SAR) SATELLITE IMAGERY AND AIS DATA

Abstract

Nowadays, ship detection using remote sensing images is considered one of the most important aspects of maritime surveillance systems, as it enables the monitoring of a range of maritime activities such as shipping traffic, safety and security at sea, cargo transportation, maritime defence, fisheries control, oil spill detection, etc. In this paper, a methodology is proposed to collect, process and analyse Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data for maritime activity, which are further correlated with relevant AIS (Automatic Identification System) datasets, to identify vessels that may not require AIS or related systems or vessels involved in illegal activities. The rapid development of remote sensing science and the wide variety of freely available satellite data and related tools have contributed to this goal. All datasets are stored and visualized through a developed portal specifically designed to host spatial data. Geoportal is easily accessible by many users, offering a wide range of services such as download, visualization, and analysis. Geoportal is expected to be a valuable tool that can provide easy access to accurate high resolution spatial data to a wide range of individuals, scientists, decision makers and other stakeholders.