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Satellite Imagery News

12 Dec 2023

US Issues Sweeping Sanctions Targeting Russia Over Ukraine War

© Alexey Bakharev / Adobe Stock

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on hundreds of people and entities, including in China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, as it targets Russia's sanctions evasion, future energy capabilities, banks and its metals and mining sector.The U.S. Treasury and State departments targeted more than 250 individuals and entities in Washington's latest action attempting to crack down on Russia and its evasion of sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies over the war in…

21 Sep 2023

U.S. Revives Cold War Submarine Spy Program to Counter China

Credit: noraismail/AdobeStock

On a windswept island 50 miles north of Seattle sits a U.S. Navy monitoring station. For years, it was kept busy tracking whale movements and measuring rising sea temperatures. Last October, the Navy gave the unit a new name that better reflects its current mission: Theater Undersea Surveillance Command.The renaming of the spy station at the Whidbey Island naval base is a nod to a much larger U.S. military project, according to three people with direct knowledge of the plans:…

07 Jul 2023

Inside the Subsea Cable Firm Secretly Helping America Take on China

On Feb. 10 last year, the cable ship CS Dependable appeared off the coast of the island of Diego Garcia, an Indian Ocean atoll that’s home to a discreet U.S. naval base.Over the next month, the ship’s crew covertly laid an underwater fiber-optic cable to the military base, an operation code-named “Big Wave,” according to four people with direct knowledge of the mission, as well as a Reuters analysis of satellite imagery and ship tracking data.The new super-fast internet link to Diego Garcia, which has not previously been reported, will boost U.S. military readiness in the Indian Ocean, a region where China has expanded its naval influence over the last decade.The CS Dependable is owned by SubCom…

25 Jan 2023

Missile Strikes Turkish-owned Cargo Ship in Ukraine

A Turkish-owned general cargo ship was struck by a missile in the port of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, sparking a fire, according to video footage from the scene and shipping sources.The missile hit the bridge of the vessel named Tuzla on Tuesday, maritime security company Ambrey said, causing the fire. Video footage showed flames filling the command room of the ship.Reuters was able to confirm the location from the ships and buildings seen in the video, which matched file and satellite imagery of the area. Reuters was not able to independently confirm the date the videos were filmed.The ship, which has been stuck at the port since February 2022…

15 Dec 2022

Vietnam in Big Push to Expand South China Sea Outposts

Vietnam has conducted a major expansion of dredging and landfill work at several of its South China Sea outposts in the second half of this year, signaling an intent to significantly fortify its claims in the disputed waterway, a U.S. think tank reported on Wednesday.Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said the work in the Spratly Islands, which are also claimed by China and others, had created roughly 420 acres (170 hectares) of new land and brought…

17 Aug 2022

Ship Carrying First Ukraine Grain Cargo Docks in Syria

Razoni docked in Syria on August 15, 2022. Photo courtesy Planet Labs PBC.

The first ship to depart Ukraine under a deal to resume grain exports from the country two weeks ago docked in the Syrian port city of Tartous on Tuesday, according to a shipping source and satellite data.The Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni set sail from Ukraine's Odesa port on Aug. 1 under a hard-won grain deal but did not unload in Lebanon as planned. Its location had not been clear in recent days as it has kept its transponder off.Satellite imagery from Planet Labs PBC showed it at the Tartous port on Tuesday morning.

25 Jul 2022

Satellite Images, Data Show Russian Ship 'Looting' Ukrainian Grain

(Photo: Planet Labs PBC)

Late last month, a Russian-flagged cargo ship carrying corn pulled into the Turkish port of Izmir on the Aegean Sea. The SV Nikolay had loaded the grain at Port Kavkaz, in Russia, six days earlier on June 18, according to documentation provided by an employee of the Russian company that owns the ship.A Reuters analysis of satellite imagery, ship-tracking data and open-source photos and videos yields a different port of origin for the SV Nikolay. On June 18, Reuters’ analysis of a satellite image indicates…

13 May 2022

Ukraine Sets Russian Supply Ship on Fire. Thwarts Russian Armored Column River Crossing

Ukrainian forces destroyed a pontoon bridge and parts of Russian armored column as it tried to cross a river in the Donbas region, video footage released by Ukraine's military showed on Friday, and a Russian naval ship was set afire in the Black Sea.Russia has suffered setbacks on the battlefield as Ukraine drives its troops out of the region around the second-largest city of Kharkiv, the fastest advance since forcing the Kremlin's forces from Kyiv and the northeast over a month ago.Reuters journalists have confirmed Ukraine is now in control of territory stretching to the banks of the Siverskiy Donets River, around 40 km (25 miles)…

08 Apr 2022

China Shipbuilding for Taiwan Firm Likely Aiding Chinese Navy Build-up

(File photo: CSSC)

Contracts between China's top state-owned shipbuilding firm and Taiwan's leading shipping company are likely lowering the costs of upgrading China's navy, posing security concerns for the island claimed by Beijing, a U.S. think tank said on Thursday.China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC) is a key producer of vessels for China's rapidly expanding People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and is thought to be building its third aircraft carrier.Taiwan's Evergreen Marine Corp has purchased 44 vessels from China since 2018…

24 Jan 2022

Dredgers Spotted Off Cambodian Base Where China is Funding Work

© Eleven K Production / Adobe Stock

Dredgers have been spotted off Cambodia’s Ream naval base, where China is funding construction work and deeper port facilities would be necessary for the docking of larger military ships, a U.S. think tank said on Friday.The United States, which has sought to push back against Beijing's extensive territorial claims and military expansion in the South China Sea, reiterated its "serious concerns" about China's construction and military presence at Ream."These developments threaten U.S.

11 Jan 2022

Canadian Coast Guard Begins Great Lakes Icebreaking

CCGS Samuel Risley performs icebreaking duties on the St. Marys River, Ontario in March 2021. (CNW Group/Canadian Coast Guard)

The Canadian Coast Guard's (CCG) annual icebreaking season on the Great Lakes, which provides assistance to the shipping industry, is underway. Working in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) District 9, the CCG has two icebreakers assigned to the Great Lakes for the entire winter season: CCGS Griffon and CCGS Samuel Risley. These vessels are supported as required by additional CCG vessels after the St. Lawrence Seaway reopens in March 2022.Although the St. Lawrence Seaway, Welland Canal and Sault Ste.

23 Dec 2021

UAF’s GINA Provides a Guiding Hand in Arctic Ocean Research

The Sikuliaq, a 261-ft. ice-capable research vessel operated by UAF, pauses in the Arctic Ocean in June 2021 during its fifth year of operation. Photo by Ethan Roth

The research vessel Sikuliaq navigated among and around the chunks and slabs of Arctic sea ice above Alaska for several weeks on two voyages this fall, breaking through frozen slabs when it had to, just as its sturdy hull is designed to do. It's now on a third trip.The Sikuliaq, a 261-ft. ice-capable research vessel operated by UAF, pauses in the Arctic Ocean in June 2021 during its fifth year of operation. A few months later, it traveled farther north than ever before — almost 500 miles beyond Point Barrow.Satellite imagery produced at the Geographic Information Network of Alaska…

27 Oct 2021

Mighty River to Muddy Trickle: South America's Parana Rings Climate Alarm

Illustration only - Aerial shot over Parana River in Front of Rosario City - Credit: Wirestock/AdobeStock

Gustavo Alcides Diaz, an Argentine fisherman and hunter from a river island community, is at home on the water. The Parana River once lapped the banks near his wooden stilt home that he could reach by boat. Fish gave him food and income. He purified river water to drink.Now the 40-year-old looks out on a trickle of muddy water.The Parana, South America's second-largest river behind only the Amazon, has retreated this year to its lowest level since its record low in 1944, hit by cyclical droughts and dwindling rainfall upriver in Brazil.

06 Oct 2021

Pipeline from California Offshore Oil Spill was Moved 32 Meters Along Sea Floor

Crude oil is shown in the Pacific Ocean offshore of Orange County, Oct. 3, 2021.



A unified command has been established to respond to and clean up the oil spill off the California coast.

Official U.S. Coast Guard photo.

A section of the oil pipeline that burst off the Southern California coast was displaced 105 feet (32 meters) across the ocean floor, officials said on Tuesday, fueling speculation that a ship's anchor may have caused the environmental disaster.The revelation came as the U.S. Coast Guard and drilling company Amplify Energy Corp came under further scrutiny about the time it took to respond to the spill, amid reports that mariners first reported seeing oil in the water on Friday night…

09 Sep 2021

Smugglers Fake Ship Identities to Evade North Korea Sanctions

© Puchthanun / Adobe Stock

Smugglers suspected of evading sanctions on North Korea have turned to schemes to create fraudulent identities for sanctioned ships, a U.S.-based research group said in a report released on Thursday.Ships suspected of smuggling have long modified their physical appearance or broadcast false position data, said the report from C4ADS, a non-profit group.But the practice of "vessel identity laundering" is significantly more sophisticated and not only undermines sanctions, but jeopardizes the integrity of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) ship registration system…

05 Sep 2021

Divers to Try to Locate Oil Spill Source in U.S. Gulf of Mexico

Illustration only - Credit: vejaa/AdobeStock

A private dive team will try to locate the source of a suspected oil spill spotted in the Bay Marchand area of the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, after Hurricane Ida wreaked havoc in the region this week, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Saturday.U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite images, first reported by the Associated Press on Wednesday, showed a miles-long brownish-black slick spreading in coastal waters about two miles off Port Fourchon, Louisiana, an oil…

03 Aug 2021

SPACEWHALE: Space Tech, AI meet to Monitor Whales from the Heavans

Two Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) from aerial view in the arctic (photo: Michael Schauer)

Modern space technology and artificial intelligence have combined to enhance the conservation of marine animals: the new service, “SPACEWHALE”, developed by a team of creative scientists in Germany and the UK, detects whales from space. Supported by funding from the European Space Agency (ESA) Space Solutions program, this research enables whales and other large marine megafauna to be surveyed at an unprecedented scale. Earth Observation from satellites is developing fast and within a few years, space technology companies aim to provide daily high-resolution images of the whole globe.

02 Aug 2021

US Says It Seized Tanker Used to Evade North Korea Sanctions

The U.S. Justice Department (DoJ) on Friday announced the seizure of a 2,734-ton tanker it said was owned and operated by a Singaporean national and used to make shipments of petroleum products to North Korea in violation of international sanctions.A DoJ statement said the M/T Courageous was seized by Cambodian authorities in March 2020 in accordance with a U.S. warrant, having been used to transfer oil products to North Korean vessels and to make direct shipments to the North Korean port of Nampo."Criminal charges of conspiracy to evade economic sanctions on the DPRK and money laundering conspiracy are pending against the alleged owner and operator of the Courageous…

24 Jun 2021

15 Companies make the cut in PortXL Maritime Acceleration Program

Fifteen companies from 11 countries were selected by a panel of industry experts, investors and entrepreneurs for the 6th PortXL acceleration program in Rotterdam. Starting in September, they will spend three months in Rotterdam. The PortXL team and its large network of expert mentors and partners will support them in validating their technologies and scaling their businesses. The program will end on December 2, when the signed contracts between innovators and corporate partners, such as Port of Rotterdam and Van Oord, will be announced at the Shakedown event.

17 Jun 2021

Spain Detains Tanker for Dumping Oil off Canary Islands

Spain has detained a tanker ship for illegally dumping fuel in waters off the Canary Islands and creating a 55-square km (21 square miles) oil spill, the Transport Ministry said.Spanish maritime authorities ordered the Liberia-flagged Aldan to dock in the southern port of Almeria last Sunday after the European Union's Maritime Safety Agency detected the spill through satellite imagery.Refinitiv shipping data showed the Aldan, which had been heading eastwards through the Mediterranean to Greece, diverted to Almeria on Sunday. As of Thursday evening it was still there.The ship's manager must pay a 600,000 euro ($713,640) fine to release the vessel…

01 Apr 2021

The Value of Friends in “High-Latitude” Places

 Mooring retrieved on board the Svalbard (photo credit: Daniel Fatnes of the Norwegian Coast Guard)

Who do you call when you need a job done on short notice, in total darkness, under 100-percent ice cover, thousands of meters at the bottom of the sea? In the case of the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR), you call your friends in Norway.That is exactly what the Chief of Naval Research Rear Admiral Lorin C. Selby did when he enlisted the help of the Norwegian Coast Guard icebreaker and offshore patrol vessel, the CGV Svalbard, to retrieve oceanographic moorings containing irreplaceable data.

22 Dec 2020

Satellites Expose Risks of Forced Labor in Global Fishing

© whitcomberd / Adobe Stock

Fishing vessels with crews of forced laborers behave in systematically different ways to the rest of the global fleet, according to a study purporting to be the first to remotely identify vessels potentially engaged in modern slavery.Using satellite data, machine learning and on-the-ground expertise from human rights practitioners, U.S. researchers found up to 26% of about 16,000 industrial fishing vessels analyzed were at high risk of using forced labor.As many as 100,000 people are estimated to work on these high-risk vessels, many of whom are potential victims of forced labor.

14 Dec 2020

Iran Uses Disguised Tanker to Export Venezuelan Oil

A tanker chartered by the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is loading Venezuelan crude for export, documents from state-run PDVSA show, providing evidence of the two countries’ latest tactics to expand their trade in defiance of U.S. sanctions.Venezuela and Iran have deepened their cooperation this year as Venezuela has exchanged gold and other commodities for Iranian food, condensate and fuel.Names of scrapped vessels are being used by several PDVSA (Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A.) customers, including NIOC, to disguise the routes and identities of the tankers they use.A very large crude carrier (VLCC), identified in PDVSA’s loading documents as the Ndros…