Part of Field Systems & Communications
THE WRAITH PLATFORM
Know which vessels aren't what they say they are.
Most vessels broadcast who they are and where they are: a name, a number, a position, a type of ship. WRAITH is a shore-based node that checks those claims against what it observes for itself. It flags the vessel with its transponder switched off, the one reporting a position it isn't in, the fishing boat declaring itself a cargo ship, and the boat that goes quiet inside a marine reserve, then hands each case to the people who can act on it.
Independent
It doesn't take a vessel's word for it. Every claim is checked against what the node sees for itself. A vessel can change what it broadcasts; it can't change what's on the water.
Honest about gaps
When a vessel is out of view or the evidence is thin, WRAITH says "insufficient evidence", not "all clear".
Built for the coast
Designed for the same conditions as our other field systems: exposed sites, unreliable links, and no operator watching a screen.
What it checks
Presence
A vessel on the water with nothing broadcast, or a broadcast with no vessel behind it.
Position
A reported position that doesn't match where the vessel actually is, or one identity used by two hulls at once.
Identity
A declared type and size that don't match the vessel in view.
Behaviour
Loitering in a closed area, going silent inside a reserve, or two vessels meeting at sea.
WRAITH stands for Watch, Recognise, Assess, Identify, Track, Hand-off.
Where it stands
WRAITH is a proof of concept, built in software. We modelled a single shore node and ran eight scenarios through it, from a vessel running dark to two hulls sharing one identity. In 50 simulated runs of each scenario in daylight, it flagged every planted problem and raised no false alert on an honest vessel. At night, when a vessel is beyond what the node can see, it reports insufficient evidence rather than guessing. These are simulation results, not field results. The next step is a pilot site.
Where it comes from
The same problem as our conservation intelligence work, at sea: knowing what's really out there when the people breaking the rules control what they report.
Read about our conservation and crime intelligence work →BushSense, the same idea on land →
We're looking for a pilot site: a harbour, a marine protected area, or a stretch of coast with a fisheries problem.
Talk to us about a pilot