Windward

Windward is an Israeli maritime intelligence company founded in 2011 by Ami Daniel and Matan Peled, listed on the London Stock Exchange (AIM) since December 2021. Its platform fuses AIS vessel-tracking data, satellite imagery, and machine-learning behavioural models to flag sanctions evasion, illicit ship-to-ship transfers, and anomalous vessel behaviour at scale.

Across both active conflicts Windward covers, its data has become primary evidence for policymakers. In the Strait of Hormuz, Windward mapped 92 AIS denial zones and 44 GPS jamming zones as of 5 March 2026, documenting the electronic warfare environment strangling commercial navigation. By 12 April, the company documented 14 State Department-sanctioned dark-fleet vessels near Hormuz using the identities of scrapped ships to evade enforcement. On 19-20 April, Windward logged only three Hormuz transits — the lowest since the blockade began — alongside seven VLCCs clustered near Chabahar with combined 14 million barrel capacity, then on 23 April confirmed the first completely AIS-blank transit day in the strait's recorded history. On 24 April, Windward logged 9 transits and a 13% dark-activity surge. In the Russia-Ukraine war, Windward's registry analysis documented that Sovcomflot reflagged 56% of its fleet to Russia's own registry, supplying the evidentiary backbone for the EU's March 2026 shadow-fleet sanctions package.

Windward occupies an unusual position: a private company whose commercial intelligence product directly shapes sanctions enforcement and conflict reporting in two simultaneous major conflicts. Its data appears in EU policy documents, news wires, and government briefings simultaneously, raising questions about accountability, methodology transparency, and the role of for-profit maritime analytics in determining which ships are targeted.