AI-Powered Maritime Safety to Detect Illegal Dangerous Sea Immigration

Background

Illegal sea crossings from Africa to Europe are a growing humanitarian crisis. In 2022 alone, there were 95,000 such crossings. Tragically, over 18,000 lives have been lost or are missing in the Mediterranean and Atlantic since 2015, with over half a million people requiring rescue efforts. Despite substantial investments by EU countries—€676.4 million between 2006 and 2017—traditional maritime operations are costly and limited in coverage. To address these challenges, ACUA Ocean sought a scalable, cost-effective AI-driven solution to enhance maritime safety.

Objective

To develop an affordable and efficient AI-powered system for detecting and potentially stopping dangerous sea immigration, while improving humanitarian efforts and reducing the cost of maritime operations.

Approach

The project team, comprising 50 AI changemakers, followed a complete data science lifecycle to build a solution. Key steps included:

• Data Collection and Labeling: Assembling and preparing relevant datasets for model training.
• Computer Vision Development: Testing multiple approaches to identify vessels and individuals engaged in illegal activities.
• Hardware Integration: Ensuring model compatibility with FLIR camera systems used on Autonomous Surface Vessels (H-USVs).
• Rapid Prototyping: Delivering a functional AI model within eight weeks.

Results and Impact

• AI-Powered Model Deployment: A functional computer vision model capable of detecting vessels and individuals engaging in illegal sea immigration activities.
• Cost Efficiency: The solution is designed to work seamlessly with ACUA Ocean’s H-USVs, reducing operational costs while expanding surveillance coverage.
• Humanitarian Impact: Enhanced ability to identify and respond to individuals in distress, potentially saving thousands of lives.
• Scalable Technology: The model’s integration with FLIR camera systems enables widespread use across similar maritime operations globally.

Future Implications

This project demonstrates the potential of AI in addressing complex humanitarian and security challenges at sea. By reducing costs and improving efficiency, the solution could inform future EU policies on maritime operations. Furthermore, ongoing advancements in AI-powered autonomous systems could expand their applications to other areas, such as environmental monitoring and disaster response.