Who is at sea in Nordic waters, and who deserves a closer look

NordicWarden follows ships live from public AIS data and cross-checks every one against sanctions lists, shadow-fleet patterns and the subsea cables and pipelines they pass over. Every flag comes with its reasons and sources.

Anyone can look at the live map. Membership is open to everyone for now – all it takes is a valid e-mail address and a short application – and members also get the owners, managers and companies behind each ship, Global Fishing Watch's events and insights, satellite images of every event and track history 30 days back.

Open the live map Apply for membership

17,748ships on the map now

78flagged with a risk score of 40+

77sanctioned or shadow-fleet listed

212notable events in the last 24 h

Latest high-risk events

See everything on the map →

0 minutes ago Sanctioned ship · HERA (Vietnam)
sanctioned: Canada sanctions, EU sanctions, Swiss sanctions, UK sanctions
0 minutes ago Shadow-fleet ship · HERA (Vietnam)
listed as shadow fleet
0 minutes ago Sanctioned ship · VELES (Russia)
sanctioned: Canada sanctions, EU sanctions, UK sanctions, Ukraine GUR War&Sanctions
0 minutes ago Shadow-fleet ship · VELES (Russia)
listed as shadow fleet
0 minutes ago At anchor on cable / pipeline · NOBLE INVINCIBLE (Marshall Islands)
at anchor 0.1 km from pipeline AASEN 12 3/4 8 5/8 19F6001
0 minutes ago At anchor on cable / pipeline · ARKLOW CLOUD (Ireland)
at anchor 0.2 km from telecom cable Tverrlinken (approximate route)

What you see on the map

Ships and their risk

Each ship gets a risk score from 0 to 100, from sanctions and watch lists (EU, UK, US, UN, Ukraine GUR), shadow-fleet patterns, reflagging, port-state detentions and trips to Russian ports. Open a ship to see every reason and source.

Subsea infrastructure

Power and data cables and pipelines on the seabed. A ship anchoring on, drifting over or lingering near one is flagged – the pattern seen in the Baltic cable incidents.

Behaviour at sea

Ships meeting at sea for hours (a ship-to-ship transfer?), ships whose AIS goes silent while others nearby are still heard, and naval and government vessels that broadcast.

Without an account, and as a member

Apply for membership

The live map is open to everyone. For now, so is membership: anyone with a valid e-mail address can apply, and every application is read by a person before the account is opened.

What you can see without and with an account
What	Without an account	Members
Live map of shipsEvery ship the AIS feeds receive in Nordic and nearby waters, updated every few seconds, with naval and government vessels marked.	✓	✓
Risk score with reasons and sourcesWhy a ship is flagged: sanctions and watch lists (EU, UK, US, UN, Ukraine GUR), shadow-fleet patterns, reflagging, port-state detentions – each with the database match and its source.	✓	✓
Events at seaShips anchoring on or loitering over subsea cables and pipelines, ship-to-ship meetings, AIS switched off, port calls to and from Russia.	✓	✓
Owners, managers and companiesThe registered owner, the ship and commercial managers, the P&I club, and which of them are sanctioned (OpenSanctions, Global Fishing Watch registries).	–	✓
Global Fishing WatchA ship's last 90 days: port visits, loitering, meetings at sea, AIS gaps likely made on purpose; 12 months of AIS coverage; registries and illegal-fishing lists.	–	✓
Satellite imagesFor every event: the Sentinel-1 radar images (through clouds and darkness) and Sentinel-2 optical images of that place and day, to see what was there.	–	✓
Track historyWhere a ship has been, from the site's own recording.	7 days back	30 days back

How membership works

Apply with a valid e-mail address
Use an address you read: we send the answer to your application there, and the link if you ever need a new password. We use it for nothing else – no newsletters, and it is never shared.
A person reads your application
Not a machine. We check that the address is real and read what you want to use the data for – the sanctions and ownership data we show is licensed for non-commercial, public-interest use, so we look at each application before it is approved. It usually takes a day or two.
Log in and see the full picture
You get an e-mail when your account is ready. Log in, and the map shows you everything in the Members column above.

Membership is open to everyone for now. We may limit it later.

Apply for membership

How to read it

AIS is broadcast in the clear by the ships themselves. Ships can switch it off or send false data, and warships don't have to transmit at all. Databases can be wrong or out of date, and a ship's identity number can be reused.

Every flag is a lead, not proof. Check it before you publish or act on it.

Method and sources →