Signal in motion
From position to port context to decision.
See the cargo move. Explain the risk.
Overwatch connects vessel movement to cargo estimates, port-flow context, congestion, and risk evidence—so analysts can see what changed and open the source behind it. Extend the view to Locus when the question reaches beyond the port.
Reference platform coverage
Captured 2026-09-24 · evidence stays attached
How a vessel signal becomes a decision
AIS is the observation. Context, method, and evidence are what make it useful to a trade desk, port team, or risk analyst.
Observe
AIS positions into a shared signal
AIS transponders broadcast vessel position, draft, and destination. Overwatch normalizes those observations into 158M+ Codex-backed rows with vessel, port, route, and H3 density context.
Explain
Draft change with method and confidence
When a ship arrives empty and departs loaded, draft change can reveal cargo volume. The method, range, vessel inputs, and confidence evidence stay inspectable instead of collapsing into a black-box number.
Anticipate
Port flow and exception context
Movement, loading evidence, congestion, and official comparisons come together so analysts can spot an outlier before it becomes a surprise in the report.
Act
Review risk with evidence attached
Dark-fleet activity, STS monitoring, identity changes, P&I coverage, and OFAC screening stay attached to the same vessel record an analyst can review, pin, or escalate.
Open risk workbenchA command deck for commodity decisions
The shape of the workflow is shown here; live evidence, freshness, and source links are available inside the dashboard.
Port workspace
Illustrative weekly flow, risk, and evidence view
Observed
AIS + port events
Inferred
Range + method attached
Coverage gap
Visible, never hidden
| Vessel | Draft In | Draft Out | Est. Cargo | Risk | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MV Star Grain | 7.2m | 13.8m | 42,100 t | Low | Departed |
| Nordic Bulk | 6.8m | 14.1m | 48,300 t | Medium | Departed |
| Panamax Glory | 7.5m | 12.9m | 35,700 t | High | Loading |
From signal to decision
Reviewable signals for commodity flow, port operations, and vessel risk—each with the context needed to decide what happens next.
Read the method. Track the market.
A weekly view of commodity flow, plus deeper notes on the data and decisions behind the platform.
The Flow Report
Weekly commodity intelligence
Port-by-port cargo estimates before the USDA, EIA, and CONAB reports drop. Accuracy we publish and track. Free every Thursday.
Axiom Intel
Technical intelligence reports
Deep-dive analysis on maritime intelligence, sanctions evasion patterns, physical-world data science, and the technology powering the Axiom platform.
The evidence behind the workflow
From draft measurements to risk screening and satellite context, here is how Overwatch turns vessel signals into reviewable intelligence.
How accurate are Axiom Overwatch's cargo volume estimates?
Cargo estimates are presented with their underlying draft, vessel, and confidence evidence. The workflow is designed for analyst review against published trade and port records, not as an unqualified accuracy claim.
What is draft-based cargo estimation and how does it work?
When a ship loads cargo, it sinks deeper in the water. We measure the draft change between arrival and departure from AIS data, combined with the vessel's deadweight tonnage and per-vessel calibration curves, to calculate cargo loaded. Our multi-source fusion combines AISStream and VesselFinder data for redundancy.
How far ahead of official reports can Axiom Overwatch predict commodity volumes?
Overwatch builds flow context before official reports publish, then lets analysts compare vessel, port, and trade-record evidence once those reports are available.
How does vessel risk screening work?
Risk workflows attach AIS gaps, STS proximity, identity changes, P&I coverage, OFAC screening, and vessel-history evidence to the same dossier so a reviewer can inspect why a vessel was flagged.
Which ports, terminals, and chokepoints does Axiom Overwatch cover?
The public coverage map catalogs major grain export ports, LNG terminals, mining terminals, European hubs, and critical chokepoints. Production coverage is tied to available AIS, port-event, and Codex source feeds.
Does Axiom Overwatch have an API?
Yes. API and export workflows cover vessel positions, risk evidence, congestion indices, trade route flows, entity links, and Codex-normalized maritime records.
What satellite data does Axiom Overwatch use for crop intelligence?
We use MODIS and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery to compute NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) as crop-health context for commodity-flow review. Satellite signals are presented as supporting evidence alongside vessel, port, and trade records.
What is dark fleet detection?
Dark fleet detection identifies vessels that stop broadcasting AIS positions, which can indicate sanctions evasion, illegal transfers, smuggling, or benign coverage gaps. Axiom Overwatch attaches each gap to vessel history, nearby STS context, and risk evidence so analysts can review the basis for the flag.