AI Windward Detects Russia’s Dark Activities

An alarming new behavior claimed Russia is allegedly laundering grain has been discovered by Windward, a maritime AI technology company.

Windward claims that in what appears to be a systematic effort to hide the origin, movement, and final destination of grain allegedly stolen from Ukraine, boats are increasingly participating in dubious activities as well as ship-to-ship (STS) operations.In June, 5 vessels were involved in STS operations and dark activity in the Kerch Strait as part of what seemed to be a concerted effort to launder grain purportedly stolen from Ukraine, according to Windward's assessment, which provides previously undisclosed information.

Comparing July 2020-June 2021 to July 2021-June 2022, there has been a 160% rise in nighttime activities in the Black Sea by bulk vessels flying either the Russian or Syrian flags. Seventy-three percent of the incidents that occurred between July 2021 and June 2022 occurred after the conflict started.

When a Ship Goes Going Dark

When a ship purposefully turns off its automatic identification system (AIS) in an effort to hide its actions, this is referred to as engaging in "dark activities." Usually, a ship goes dark when it is smuggling crude oil.

Windward observed vessels going dark in order to load grain that has been trafficked from Ukraine, followed by either a visible port call or a dark discharge of cargo in either Syria or Turkey.

“The maritime domain has substantially changed since OFAC’s initial introduction of deceptive shipping guidelines back in 2020. Not only have bad actors continued to evolve and look for new ways to conceal their illicit activities, but the scope of deceptive practices has gone far beyond the initial “crude tankers + smuggled oil to avoid sanctions” equation,” stated Windward.

“In addition to a proliferation of dark activities in the Black Sea area since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we are now witnessing coordinated cargo ship-to-ship meetings involving multiple ships in what looks like a clear attempt to evade restrictions and sanctions via smuggling.”

To know more about this, read Winward’s report on Russia’s Grain Laundering.