Draft:SeaVision - Wikipedia

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SeaVision

Type of site	Government
Founded	2012
Headquarters	Cambridge, MA , USA
Country of origin	USA
Created by	U.S. Department of Transportation
URL	https://info.seavision.volpe.dot.gov/
Launched	2012
Current status	Active

SeaVision is a U.S. Department of Transportation hosted web-based maritime situational awareness tool designed to enhance maritime operations, security, and community partnerships. It allows users to view and share a wide range of maritime information and provides rules-based analytics to monitor and alert users of specified activities or events. SeaVision is a cost-effective visualization and management tool that can quickly integrate and correlate multiple data sources to support various mission requirements.^[1]

SeaVision was originally developed in 2012^[2] by Brendon Providence of the U.S. Department of Transportation's John A. Volpe Center for U.S. Naval Forces Africa (NAVAF)^[3] as a Maritime Domain Awareness tool, and later co-developed by Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (NIWC-PAC)^[4]. It has evolved into a globally used multinational information sharing tool.

SeaVision is the primary tool used by the Volpe Center to support NAVAF. NAVAF hosts four maritime domain awareness exercises where Volpe provides technical support and help these countries analyze SeaVision data.^[5]

Since its initial release, SeaVision has been continuously developed and improved based on user requirements, technology updates, and extensive AIS system repairs. According to Henry Wychorski, an electronics engineer at Volpe, the project achieved a milestone in 2018, with 20 African nations contributing their own data to the system.^[5]

The biggest multi-national exercise that involved SeaVision was Obangame Express held in March 2017. Additionally, in the annual Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT) 2018 exercise hosted in Singapore, SeaVision was used as the primary tool.^[6]

SeaVision is a maritime tool that enables users to see ships on a map and view the movement history of those ships.^[5] It is a web-based maritime visualization and information management tool that provides unclassified data in near real-time through a shared data network. Although used globally, it is restricted to the U.S. Department of Navy and approved coalition partners. SeaVision integrates various detection systems like coastal radar and satellite imaging to enable alerts on vessels of interest (VOIs). The system supports browsers like Firefox and Internet Explorer 11 and allows users to perform risk assessments, set automated rules, generate alerts, and highlight anomalies.^[3]

SeaVision access is only granted to nations that are willing to provide data to SeaVision. Software like SeaVision can aid marine vessels in sharing data. SeaVision eliminates certain limitations for its users, such as expensive subscription requirements and extended storage/bandwidth requirements. ^[6]

SeaVision integrates data from various government and commercial sources to enhance maritime situational awareness. It provides near real-time information through the Maritime Safety and Security Information System (MSSIS), which shares Automatic Identification System (AIS) data among international partners. Additional data sources include NASA and NOAA’s satellite systems for nighttime visibility, coastal radar networks, and Satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAT-SAR).^[3]

SeaVision can also incorporate commercial datasets such as Satellite Terrestrial AIS, which offers global vessel activity and detailed vessel information, along with Maritime Risk and Port Risk datasets for monitoring security incidents and port intelligence. The tool can track vessels, monitor Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), and analyze risk scores from Fairplay’s World Registry of Ships.^[3]

SeaVision’s unclassified structure allows data import/export and offers advanced features like custom alerts, historical tracking, and vessel identification. It’s used globally by various U.S. agencies and partner nations, and supports maritime safety and security efforts, particularly in regions like West Africa.^[3]

SeaVision is used by military and non-military organizations. Countries like Kenya have local government agencies using SeaVision to build a broader view for MDA.^[7]

Kiruja Micheni, and project manager for the Djibouti Code of Conduct with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), highlighted the success of SeaVision and exercises like Cutlass Express in fostering a network that connects practitioners and countries, allowing for the sharing of experiences and best practices. This collaboration enhances the capability of partner nations to address maritime security threats by linking different regional centers.^[7]

SeaVision aims to provide continuous and iterative enhancements to ensure a more reliable application that is updated quickly and frequently. This includes:

• Incremental Releases: Delivered quarterly, introducing new features, functionality, and enhancements based on user requirements.
• Micro Releases: Deployed as needed to address critical bug fixes.^[8]