Jesper Johnsen Loe is a third-year student at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology with a fascination in geopolitics and the intricate connections between human activity and spatial dynamics. This curiosity, he says, led him to explore how geography can help us better understand and respond to real-world challenges, particularly in the maritime domain.
The idea for the MaritimAlarm.no website came after the Nord Stream pipeline leak in 2022 which, according to Loe, showed the world how vulnerable critical maritime infrastructure is to sabotage or accidents.
“As a geography student, I saw this as fundamentally a spatial problem—understanding where and how risks emerge concerning infrastructure. I started experimenting with geodata and programming to find potential solutions, and over time, the pieces began to fall into place,” he says.
Loe tells Splash Extra that very little focus was given to monitoring these risks, even though the necessary data was readily available.
In his own words, he describes MaritimAlarm as a system designed to monitor vessel activity near critical underwater infrastructure, like pipelines and cables. At its core, it uses AIS data to track the positions and movements of vessels.
By filtering the data, the system identifies ships of interest – such as Russian vessels or those flagged as potential risks based on sanctions lists – and displays their activity on an interactive map.
The map overlays vessel movements with infrastructure locations, allowing users to see connections and patterns in real time. An alarm is triggered if a vessel stays within one nautical mile of infrastructure for more than one hour or stops transmitting AIS data for more than one hour. An alarm is also triggered if a ship has a speed of two to five knots for more than 30 minutes.
“The simplicity of the system is one of its biggest strengths. By making it open-source, I’ve invited others to contribute their expertise and improve the project. It’s a tool designed to empower people, whether they’re professionals in maritime security or simply interested individuals, to engage with the data and draw their own conclusions,” Loe says.
The recent developments regarding cable-cutting, pipeline damage, and the murky nature of the shadow fleet also push projects like this into the forefront.
“These events highlight how vulnerable our underwater infrastructure is, whether to natural risks or deliberate actions. The shadow fleet is particularly concerning, operating in a grey zone that often evades oversight and raises serious questions about accountability. My project is just a small step in addressing these vulnerabilities, providing a way to make data more accessible and actionable,” Loe says.
Loe’s map overlays vessel movements with infrastructure locations, allowing users to see connections and patterns in real time
Loe believes that this kind of concept is needed in many other countries and that the challenges Norway faces are not unique. He points out Taiwan as an example of an island that is “a nation heavily reliant on secure maritime infrastructure in a tense geopolitical climate.”
Commercialisation was never part of Loe’s plan for MaritimAlarm and since all the code for the project is publicly available, Loe hopes to see many others engaging with it and making their initiatives without, as he puts it, reinventing the wheel.
“Who knows – maybe one day we’ll see a Finnish version of MaritimAlarm or similar tools around the world. I believe this openness is key to creating a broader community dedicated to addressing these challenges,” Loe says.
He also notes that, as the global situation becomes increasingly complex with growing incidents of sabotage and interference, there’s a clear need for innovative solutions, and that he hopes that MaritimAlarm can inspire others to take similar steps.
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