Marine sanctions screening for every declaration — vessel, owners, track and cargo — with the underwriter deciding
A screened declaration in minutes, every alert linked to its source.
See one case, screen by screen ↓Checking each voyage you insure — the vessel, its registered owner, managers and parents, the counterparties, the cargo and the route — against sanctions lists, listed war areas and casualty history before cover attaches. Marine Sanctions Screening adds the checks a list lookup misses: ownership to the 50 % line, tracking gaps near sanctioned ports and draught changes across them.
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Most open-cover declarations arrive after the ship has sailed, in bulk bordereaux each morning. Checking the vessel name and IMO number against the lists takes seconds. The checks that matter — the owners and parents behind a single-ship company, tracking gaps, draught changes, ship-to-ship transfers, the real origin of the cargo — take far longer per flagged voyage, so they are done for a sample.
A ship can pass every list and still load its cargo with its AIS switched off beside a sanctioned port. The sanction limitation and exclusion clause suspends cover while the exposure exists, but keeping premium or paying a claim on that voyage still exposes the insurer — and the broker often learns at claim time. Additional premium for listed-area days is missed too, when nobody reads the route against the current listed areas.
Estimated split for one flagged declaration, in minutes, screened by hand and with the solution.
Six agents screen every vessel, owner, track and cargo; the underwriter decides and compliance countersigns.
At 08:14 on Monday 22 September, Ashby Lowe Marine’s morning bordereau brings declaration DEC-26-08417 under open cover OC-1142: 68,000 t of high-sulphur fuel oil on the MT Corvina Star, declared loaded at Sohar, Oman. Here is what happens next, screen by screen, in the working solution.
Helena opens the voyage map. Since midnight 318 declarations have been screened: 291 cleared, 19 covered with additional premium, 6 for review and 2 on hold. Her queue shows the 8 that need her, each with its reason — and the Corvina Star at the top, on hold.
“Went dark 41 h, 18 nm from Bandar Abbas · 52 % listed ownership”
The declaration reader took the IMO, cargo, ports and USD 34.03 m insured value from the declaration, B/L and certificate of origin. The list screener checked the vessel, six companies and the consignee against the US, UK, EU and UN lists and the watch list. The ownership tracer, track analyst, war & area rater and decision drafter followed — each step timed in the run log.
Decision drafter: “Recommends refusal under the sanctions clause — 4 reasons, 9 sources; sent to Helena Marsh and Tomás Rocha.”
The close-up of the Strait of Hormuz shows the last position at 16 Sep 08:52, 18 nm from Bandar Abbas at 8.3 m draught, and the first position back at 18 Sep 01:52 — at 14.4 m. The ship came back 6.1 m deeper, about 61,000 t loaded while it was invisible.
Helena replays the voyage. The ship heads into the gap and the counter starts: last seen 16 Sep 08:52, no signal from any receiver. Under the map, the timeline fills in signal, draught and listed-area days as it plays — 7.6 m in ballast, 8.3 m sailing from Sohar, then red where the signal stops.
Clicking the went-dark panel opens the tracking positions behind it: 1,412 terrestrial and satellite AIS positions from 12 to 22 September, the last and first positions around the gap highlighted, and three satellite passes over the area that found no signal.
A gap is reported, never treated as proof — hours, positions and draught for every event.
Registered owner Halcyon Bay Shipping Inc., a single-ship company formed 11 Jun 2026, is wholly owned by Saronic Delta Holdings Ltd. Its shareholders include Meridia Petrotrade FZE (34 %, US list) and Zenith Coast Holdings (18 %, UK list): 52 %, over the line. The commercial manager, Aster Ridge, is on the watch list — and 4 of its 6 ships were renamed in 2026.
The recommendation is to refuse to attach cover under the sanctions clause and refer the voyage to compliance. The reasons: 41 hours dark near Bandar Abbas, about 61,000 t loaded while invisible against a Sohar draught that shows about 7,000 t, the 52 % listed parent, and a profile that matches known deceptive practices. The premium if covered — USD 45,941 — is struck through: not charged.
“Not charged — no cover attaches while the sanctions exposure exists.”
Helena signs the refusal with her reason on file. Because it is a sanctions hold, it needs a second signature: Tomás Rocha, sanctions compliance, countersigns, and a reporting review opens. Both signatures and every agent step sit in the declaration’s trail.
The notice to Ravi Menon at Ashby Lowe Marine says cover under OC-1142 does not attach to DEC-26-08417, the sanction limitation and exclusion clause applies, no premium is charged, and no further declarations should be made on this vessel. It names no list entries.
List details are never disclosed to the broker · Tomás Rocha decides any regulatory report.
Each morning all 2,946 in-force voyages are swept for tracking gaps of 12 hours or more. This week: 14 went-dark events, 3 within 50 nm of a sanctioned port, 2 with a draught change over 1 m — among them the Vesta Marlin, back 2.9 m lighter after 19 hours dark, 43 nm from Baniyas.
The same declaration, seen by the underwriter, compliance, the assistant and the head of marine — what their day looked like, and what it looks like now.
Six agents screen every vessel, owner, track and cargo; the underwriter decides and compliance countersigns.
Reads each declaration line in the broker bordereau with its bill of lading and certificate of origin: vessel and IMO, cargo, HS code, quantity, ports, dates and insured value.
Screens the vessel, owners, managers, parents, counterparties and consignee against the US, UK, EU and UN lists and your watch list, and re-screens every in-force voyage daily at 06:00.
Follows company filings from the registered owner up to five layers, records each shareholding, and sums listed holdings — at 50 % or more the owner is treated as listed. Flags nominees and companies formed in the last 12 months.
Rebuilds the voyage from terrestrial and satellite AIS, finds gaps of 12 hours or more, measures distance to each sanctioned port, compares draught across the gap, and flags ship-to-ship meetings and impossible jumps.
Counts the days inside each listed war area from the time cover attaches and applies additional premium from your rate table; above the automatic limit, it refers to the underwriter.
Combines the findings into a recommendation — clear, cover with additional premium, ask the broker, hold or refuse — with each reason and its sources, and drafts the broker notice.
Decides and signs. The agents propose; a named person decides.
Underwriters and compliance can ask about any declaration, voyage, owner or listed area in plain words — or tell it what to change. Answers carry their sources.
Why is the Corvina Star on hold?
It went dark for 41 hours, 18 nm from Bandar Abbas, and came back 6.1 m deeper — about 61,000 t loaded while invisible, yet the B/L says all 68,000 t were loaded at Sohar, Oman. Its owner’s parent is 52 % owned by two listed companies. I recommend refusing under the sanctions clause; Tomás Rocha countersigns.
Which voyages went dark near a sanctioned port this week?
Three, all within 50 nm: Corvina Star — 41 h, 18 nm from Bandar Abbas, +6.1 m draught; Pelican Strand — 27 h, 32 nm from Assaluyeh, no draught change, broker asked for the deck log; Vesta Marlin — 19 h, 43 nm from Baniyas, back 2.9 m lighter, with Tomás Rocha.
Draft the broker notice for the Corvina Star
Drafted for Ravi Menon at Ashby Lowe Marine. It says cover does not attach to DEC-26-08417 under the sanctions clause, charges no premium and asks for no further declarations on this vessel. It does not name the list entries — Tomás Rocha decides what is disclosed. It goes once you sign and he countersigns.
Treat an 8-hour gap inside listed areas as dark
Done for listed areas: gap threshold 8 h (12 h elsewhere). Re-running the last 7 days with it adds 5 events, all in the Gulf and none within 50 nm of a sanctioned port. The change is version 14 of your settings; Graham Leith is notified to approve it.
13 screens from the working solution, on its sample data. Pick one to see it large.
What counts as dark, how close is too close, when the owner is treated as listed and what clears without you — all set by the head of marine, versioned and audited.
| Setting | Default | Choose from |
|---|---|---|
| Tracking gap that counts as dark | 12 h | Hours, outside listed areas |
| Tracking gap inside listed areas | 12 h | Hours, for the Gulf, Red Sea and other listed areas |
| Distance to a sanctioned port | 50 nm | Nautical miles; a gap or call inside the radius is an alert |
| Draught change across a gap | 1.0 m | Metres deeper or lighter |
| Treat the owner as listed at or over | 50 % | Aggregate listed ownership; warning shown from 25 % |
| Identifiers for a list match | 2 | Name alone never makes a match |
| Auto-clear limit | USD 25 m | No alert and insured value at or under |
| Additional premium applied without you | Up to 0.10 % | Listed-area AP; above it, referred to the underwriter |
Every figure is labelled: a target the solution is built to, an estimate, a typical published result, or a proven one.
“demo” = seen in the working solution, on its sample declarations · “target” = the design goal, measured in the live solution · “estimated” = our estimate · “typical” = published figures (IUMI Stats Report 2025 — USD 39.92 bn global marine premium in 2024). Context: US State, OFAC and Coast Guard maritime advisory (May 2020); OFSI maritime guidance; LMA/JCC sanction limitation and exclusion clause JC2010/014. People, companies and vessels named on this page are fictional — characters and sample data in the working solution.
Checking each voyage you insure — the vessel, its registered owner, managers and parents, the counterparties, the cargo and the route — against sanctions lists, listed war areas and casualty history before cover attaches. Marine Sanctions Screening adds the checks a list lookup misses: ownership to the 50 % line, tracking gaps near sanctioned ports and draught changes across them.
The track analyst rebuilds the voyage from terrestrial and satellite AIS and turns any gap of 12 hours or more into a went-dark event, with its hours, the last and first positions, the distance to the nearest sanctioned port and the draught change across the gap. A gap within 50 nm of a sanctioned port raises an alert. A gap is reported for a person to judge, never treated as proof.
The ownership tracer follows company filings up from the registered owner, up to five layers by default, and sums the shares held by listed parties. At 50 % or more the owner is treated as listed; listed shareholders are shown from 25 %. It never infers a shareholding without a filing.
No. The agents read, screen and draft. The underwriter decides cover, additional premium or refusal and signs; sanctions compliance must countersign every sanctions refusal or hold. Without a person, only declarations with no alert at or under your auto-clear limit clear, and listed-area premium up to your automatic limit is applied.
The war & area rater counts days inside each listed area from the time cover attaches and applies additional premium from your own rate table, up to your automatic limit — 0.10 % in the working solution. Above it, the declaration is referred to the underwriter.
A notice that cover does not attach, that the sanction limitation and exclusion clause applies and that no premium is charged. List details are never disclosed to the broker; compliance decides any regulatory report.
The US, UK, EU and UN sanctions lists checked hourly, your own watch list, terrestrial and satellite AIS, registries and company filings, casualty and inspection records, the current listed-areas circular and your rate table, and the documents on the declaration.
The Agentic Solution Engine builds and deploys it from your requirements — your open-cover conditions, rate table, thresholds and a sample of past declarations — and it goes live once every quality gate has passed. We will walk you through it on your own declarations first.
Control gaps found before the quote, each linked to the answer or scan.
1-min demoCyber Accumulation ManagementExposed insureds and limit listed the day a vendor event breaks.
1-min demoPolicy Wording ComparisonEvery deviation from your form found in minutes, none bound without an approver.
1-min demoWe’ll run Marine Sanctions Screening on a sample of your own open-cover declarations.