#490 SEAWAYS HERCULES // Vessel Intelligence System

Intelligence Overview

SEAWAYS HERCULES · MMSI 636016407 · 🇱🇷 US · Primary Port: Galveston

PERIOD: JAN–DEC 2024

⚠ INTELLIGENCE ASSESSMENT: SEAWAYS HERCULES ranks #490 of 69,461 monitored vessels with 33 anomalous detections across 6 months. Composite risk score: 0.9500 (CRITICAL). Active alert types: DARK_VESSEL, ZIGZAG.

Global Rank

#490

of 69,461 vessels

Composite Score

0.9500

CRITICAL

Total Detections

33

Months Active

6/12

Unique Ports

7

Dark Events

3

AIS blackout

Monthly Detection Volume

1
7

2
4

3
2

4
6

2024 MONTHLY DETECTIONS

Alert Type Distribution

ZIGZAG

16

DARK_VESSEL

3

Key Intelligence Findings

AIS Blackout Confirmed — 3 Events

Deliberate AIS transponder deactivation detected. Each event represents a period where SEAWAYS HERCULES was operating outside electronic surveillance. Consistent with covert cargo transfer or evasion operations.

Evasion Navigation — 16 Zigzag Events

Erratic course-over-ground patterns up to 110.7° std deviation, far exceeding the 50° anomaly threshold. Pattern consistent with surveillance evasion maneuvers.

Port Detection Summary

🇺🇸

San Diego

6

avg 0.595

🇨🇦

Victoria

4

avg 0.543

🇺🇸

Galveston

3

avg 0.478

🇺🇸

Oakland

2

avg 0.402

🇨🇦

Vancouver

2

avg 0.685

🇺🇸

Long Beach

1

avg 0.675

🇺🇸

Houston

1

avg 0.624

Monthly Alert Log — All Months

Month	Detections	Severity	Score	Nearest Port	Alert Types
January 2024	7	HIGH	0.7576	Victoria	DARK_VESSEL; ZIGZAG
February 2024	4	MEDIUM	0.6236	Galveston	ZIGZAG
March 2024	2	MEDIUM	0.5595	San Diego	DARK_VESSEL; ZIGZAG
April 2024	6	MEDIUM	0.6854	San Diego	ZIGZAG; DARK_VESSEL
May 2024	2	CRITICAL	0.9000	New Orleans	ZIGZAG
June 2024	12	CRITICAL	0.9500	Galveston	ZIGZAG; SPEED_ANOMALY

Activity Map

Detection events plotted · Color-coded by alert type · Drag to pan · Scroll to zoom

● Speed Anomaly ● Position Jump ● Zigzag ● Dark Vessel ● Rendezvous

Threat Intelligence

Analytical confidence: HIGH · Multi-indicator assessment

Threat Indicators Matrix

Indicator	Status	Evidence	Confidence
AIS Blackout / Dark Vessel	CONFIRMED	3 events detected	CRITICAL
GPS Spoofing / Position Jump	NOT DETECTED	—	LOW
Velocity Fraud / Speed Anomaly	NOT DETECTED	—	LOW
Evasion Navigation / Zigzag	CONFIRMED	16 events · max COG std 110.7°	HIGH
Ship-to-Ship Rendezvous	NOT DETECTED	—	LOW
Multi-Port Operations	CONFIRMED	7 unique ports	HIGH

Operational Profile

Primary AO

Galveston and surrounding maritime zone

Active Period

6 months of continuous alert activity in 2024

Alert Density

33 detections across 19 individual events (avg 5.5/month)

Active Techniques

◐ DARK ⟳ ZIGZAG

Threat Category

AIS Anomaly — Single or dual technique pattern

TTP Analysis

Tactics, Techniques & Procedures — Maritime ATT&CK Framework

MAR-T003

RTE-ANO-005

Evasion Navigation

Erratic COG changes exceeding 50° threshold (max 110.7°). Consistent with surveillance evasion or at-anchor AIS manipulation. Count: 16 events.

HIGH CONFIDENCE
16 events

MAR-T004

AIS-MAN-001

AIS Blackout

Deliberate AIS transponder deactivation to create surveillance gaps. Count: 3 events. Each event represents an unmonitored operational window.

HIGH CONFIDENCE
3 events

Risk Analysis

Composite risk scoring · Weighted indicator model · Quantus v2.4

Composite Score

0.9500

CRITICAL

Avg Detection Score

0.7460

Global Rank

#490

of 69,461 vessels

Weighted Indicator Scoring

Formula: (Dark×3) + (Rendezvous×4) + (PosJump×2) + (Speed×1) + (Zigzag×0.5) + (MaxScore×50)

Indicator	Count	Weight	Contribution
DARK_VESSEL	3	×3	9.0
RENDEZVOUS	0	×4	0.0
POSITION_JUMP	0	×2	0.0
SPEED_ANOMALY	0	×1	0.0
ZIGZAG	16	×0.5	8.0
MaxSingleScore	0.9500	×50	47.5
COMPOSITE TOTAL	Normalized [0,1]		0.9500 CRITICAL

⟳ Zigzag / Erratic Navigation

Indicator: RTE-ANO-005 · 16 events · Max COG std: 110.7°

EVASION PATTERN

Zigzag events are triggered when course-over-ground (COG) standard deviation exceeds 50°. SEAWAYS HERCULES records COG deviations up to 110.7° — consistent with surveillance evasion maneuvers or at-anchor AIS noise manipulation.

Total Events

16

Max COG Std Dev

110.7°

Threshold

50°

Zigzag Events (Top 50 by COG deviation)

Date	COG Std Dev (°)	Score	Severity	Port	Coordinates

◐ Dark Vessel Events

Indicator: AIS-MAN-001 · 3 AIS blackout events detected

AIS BLACKOUT

⚠ HIGH SIGNIFICANCE: Dark vessel events represent deliberate AIS transponder deactivation — a primary indicator of intentional surveillance evasion, covert cargo transfer, or sanctions circumvention.

Dark Vessel Events

3

Indicator

AIS-MAN-001

Risk Level

CRITICAL

◐ DARK EVENT #1 — 2024-01-01T04:59:12

AIS BLACKOUT

Location

47.4756°N, 125.8154°W — Victoria

AIS Gap Duration

7.8 hours

Pre-Blackout Speed

12.6 knots SOG

Displacement

113.9 NM from port during gap

Score

0.6294 · LOW

Assessment

AIS gap consistent with deliberate concealment.

◐ DARK EVENT #2 — 2024-03-14T11:48:23

AIS BLACKOUT

Location

29.8966°N, 116.6458°W — San Diego

AIS Gap Duration

9.8 hours

Pre-Blackout Speed

11.4 knots SOG

Displacement

171.3 NM from port during gap

Score

0.6883 · HIGH

Assessment

AIS gap consistent with deliberate concealment.

◐ DARK EVENT #3 — 2024-04-16T10:19:35

AIS BLACKOUT

Location

25.0022°N, 114.2153°W — San Diego

AIS Gap Duration

9.6 hours

Pre-Blackout Speed

11.8 knots SOG

Displacement

488.3 NM from port during gap

Score

0.6828 · HIGH

Assessment

AIS gap consistent with deliberate concealment.

Port History

7 distinct port areas · US primary flag state

Complete Port Detection Summary

Port	Country	Detections	Avg Score	Avg Dist NM	Risk
San Diego	🇺🇸	6	0.5948	153.3	STANDARD
Victoria	🇨🇦	4	0.5430	86.2	STANDARD
Galveston	🇺🇸	3	0.4780	19.4	STANDARD
Oakland	🇺🇸	2	0.4024	146.8	STANDARD
Vancouver	🇨🇦	2	0.6854	6.8	STANDARD
Long Beach	🇺🇸	1	0.6753	2.1	STANDARD
Houston	🇺🇸	1	0.6236	11.5	STANDARD

🇺🇸 San Diego — Port Profile

6 detections · Avg score 0.5948 · Avg distance 153.3 NM

LOW RISK

Total Detections

6

Primary port of operation

Avg Alert Score

0.5948

Avg Distance NM

153.3

Port proximity zone

Detection Types at San Diego

ZIGZAG

4

DARK_VESSEL

2

Coordinates: 32.715°N, 117.157°W

Port Intelligence Notes

Port Country

🇺🇸 US

Risk Classification

LOW — Standard port monitoring applies

Detection Share

6 of 19 total detections (31.6%)

Avg Distance from Port

153.3 NM — consistent with port proximity operations

🇨🇦 Victoria — Port Profile

4 detections · Avg score 0.5430 · Avg distance 86.2 NM

LOW RISK

Total Detections

4

Secondary port

Avg Alert Score

0.5430

Avg Distance NM

86.2

Port proximity zone

Detection Types at Victoria

ZIGZAG

3

DARK_VESSEL

1

Coordinates: 48.424°N, 123.370°W

Port Intelligence Notes

Port Country

🇨🇦 CA

Risk Classification

LOW — Standard port monitoring applies

Detection Share

4 of 19 total detections (21.1%)

Avg Distance from Port

86.2 NM — consistent with port proximity operations

🇺🇸 Galveston — Port Profile

3 detections · Avg score 0.4780 · Avg distance 19.4 NM

LOW RISK

Total Detections

3

Secondary port

Avg Alert Score

0.4780

Avg Distance NM

19.4

Port proximity zone

Detection Types at Galveston

ZIGZAG

3

Coordinates: 29.301°N, 94.798°W

Port Intelligence Notes

Port Country

🇺🇸 US

Risk Classification

LOW — Standard port monitoring applies

Detection Share

3 of 19 total detections (15.8%)

Avg Distance from Port

19.4 NM — consistent with port proximity operations

🇺🇸 Oakland — Port Profile

2 detections · Avg score 0.4024 · Avg distance 146.8 NM

LOW RISK

Total Detections

2

Secondary port

Avg Alert Score

0.4024

Avg Distance NM

146.8

Port proximity zone

Detection Types at Oakland

ZIGZAG

2

Coordinates: 37.804°N, 122.271°W

Port Intelligence Notes

Port Country

🇺🇸 US

Risk Classification

LOW — Standard port monitoring applies

Detection Share

2 of 19 total detections (10.5%)

Avg Distance from Port

146.8 NM — consistent with port proximity operations

🇨🇦 Vancouver — Port Profile

2 detections · Avg score 0.6854 · Avg distance 6.8 NM

LOW RISK

Total Detections

2

Secondary port

Avg Alert Score

0.6854

Avg Distance NM

6.8

Port proximity zone

Detection Types at Vancouver

ZIGZAG

2

Coordinates: 49.283°N, 123.120°W

Port Intelligence Notes

Port Country

🇨🇦 CA

Risk Classification

LOW — Standard port monitoring applies

Detection Share

2 of 19 total detections (10.5%)

Avg Distance from Port

6.8 NM — consistent with port proximity operations

🇺🇸 Long Beach — Port Profile

1 detections · Avg score 0.6753 · Avg distance 2.1 NM

LOW RISK

Total Detections

1

Secondary port

Avg Alert Score

0.6753

Avg Distance NM

2.1

Port proximity zone

Detection Types at Long Beach

ZIGZAG

1

Coordinates: 33.754°N, 118.216°W

Port Intelligence Notes

Port Country

🇺🇸 US

Risk Classification

LOW — Standard port monitoring applies

Detection Share

1 of 19 total detections (5.3%)

Avg Distance from Port

2.1 NM — consistent with port proximity operations

🇺🇸 Houston — Port Profile

1 detections · Avg score 0.6236 · Avg distance 11.5 NM

LOW RISK

Total Detections

1

Secondary port

Avg Alert Score

0.6236

Avg Distance NM

11.5

Port proximity zone

Detection Types at Houston

ZIGZAG

1

Coordinates: 29.749°N, 95.362°W

Port Intelligence Notes

Port Country

🇺🇸 US

Risk Classification

LOW — Standard port monitoring applies

Detection Share

1 of 19 total detections (5.3%)

Avg Distance from Port

11.5 NM — consistent with port proximity operations

Ownership Intelligence

MMSI registry · Flag state analysis · Beneficial ownership investigation

Vessel Name

SEAWAYS HERCULES

MMSI

636016407

Flag State (MMSI-derived)

🇱🇷 US

MID Code

636 → 🇱🇷 US

Primary Port

Galveston

Detection Period

6 months (2024)

Registered Owner

Pending registry lookup

Beneficial Owner

Requires FinCEN CDD query

OFAC SDN Status

Pending cross-reference

Recommended Action

Physical inspection + full registry query

Vessel Type Analysis

AIS declared type · Physical capability vs. observed behavior

Type Mismatch Assessment

AIS Declared Type

vessel_type=37 (Pleasure Craft)

Behavior Consistency

Requires investigation

Speed Capability

Within or near physical limits for vessel type

Inspection Priority

HIGH — Recommend USCG/CBSA physical boarding and documentation review

Applicable Statutes

47 C.F.R. § 80.953 (AIS falsification) · 33 C.F.R. § 164.46 (AIS carriage) · 21 U.S.C. § 955 (maritime drug law)