Vessel Vetting & Due Diligence
Enter a vessel name or IMO number. Get a complete dossier: corporate ownership tree from the GLEIF LEI registry, sanctions screening across OFAC SDN, UN, and EU lists, PSC detention history, flag state performance, and corporate opacity scoring. What used to take 3 to 6 hours now takes seconds.
The Problem
A single vessel vetting requires a compliance analyst to check five or more separate databases, manually trace corporate ownership through opaque jurisdictions, and cross-reference every entity against multiple sanctions lists. Most teams spend 3 to 6 hours per vessel and still miss things.
Equasis for PSC detentions. OFAC for SDN matches. EU consolidated list. UN Security Council resolutions. Company registries for ownership. Each database has a different interface, different data format, different update schedule. Analysts toggle between tabs and copy-paste into spreadsheets.
A vessel registered in Panama, owned by a Marshall Islands shell company, controlled by a Cyprus holding, with a beneficial owner in a sanctioned jurisdiction. Standard screening checks the vessel name and stops. The real risk sits two or three layers up the corporate chain.
Sanctions lists update on different cycles. OFAC may update its SDN list while you are still referencing last week's download. A vessel cleared yesterday can be designated today. Without continuous monitoring, your compliance posture degrades the moment you close the report.
How It Works
Enter a vessel name, IMO number, or MMSI. ArcNautical runs the full vetting pipeline automatically and returns a structured dossier within seconds.
Search by vessel name, IMO number, or MMSI. ArcNautical resolves the vessel identity and pulls basic particulars: flag state, class society, year built, DWT, vessel type, and last known position.
Query the GLEIF LEI registry for the registered owner. Walk the corporate parent chain: direct parent, ultimate parent, beneficial owners. Cross-reference against the OpenOwnership BODS dataset. Map every entity to its registration jurisdiction.
Every entity in the chain — vessel, registered owner, parent companies, beneficial owners, operators, managers — is screened against three sanctions lists simultaneously: OFAC SDN (US), UN Security Council consolidated list, and the OpenSanctions maritime dataset covering 3,701 vessels and 3,362 companies.
Pull PSC detention records from Paris MOU and Tokyo MOU. Score flag state performance against the Paris MOU white/grey/black list. Assess vessel age. Calculate corporate opacity based on jurisdiction transparency, number of layers, and GLEIF coverage. Weight all factors into a composite vetting score.
Export a timestamped vessel dossier PDF that documents every data source queried, every entity screened, and every risk factor scored. The report includes methodology notes for regulatory review and is designed to satisfy KYV requirements for marine insurance, trade finance, and port state compliance.
Data Coverage
Every data point in a vessel dossier traces back to a primary source. ArcNautical queries these registries directly and caches results with defined TTLs so you always get current data without hammering rate-limited APIs.
Who Uses This
Different roles need different depth from a vessel dossier. ArcNautical serves them all from the same underlying data pipeline.
Screen vessels before charter, cargo booking, or port call. Get structured sanctions results that satisfy OFAC guidance on due diligence for the maritime industry. Export audit-ready PDFs for regulatory review.
Assess vessel risk before binding coverage. The vetting score combines detention history, flag performance, vessel age, and ownership opacity into a single number. Ownership chain sanctions screening catches risks that vessel-level checks miss.
Due diligence for vessel acquisitions, charter party disputes, and sanctions advisory. The ownership chain resolution provides a documented trail from vessel to ultimate beneficial owner with jurisdiction mapping at each level.
Screen vessels carrying financed cargo against sanctions lists before issuing letters of credit. The combined ownership-plus-vessel screening satisfies KYC/AML requirements specific to maritime trade finance workflows.
Enter a vessel name or IMO number and get a complete dossier — ownership chain, sanctions screening, detention history, flag risk, and opacity score — in seconds.
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