Safer Seas With Earth Observation for Maritime Insights
SkySat® image of the HMAS Stirling, Royal Australian Navy Base, Perth, Western Australia captured on July 25, 2025. © 2025, Planet Labs PBC. All Rights Reserved.
StoriesThe theme of this year’s World Maritime Day, “Our Ocean, Our Obligation, Our Opportunity,” is a stark reminder that all of us are stakeholders of the world’s oceans. Earth’s waters are home to millions of marine species, absorb emissions through blue carbon, and power the global economy by providing food, jobs, and trade routes. Cleaner, safer seas must be the standard, not the alternative.
How do we ensure cleaner, safer seas without disrupting critical ocean-based economic activities such as global shipping, transport, and marine food sourcing? This challenge is magnified by the vast scale of Earth's oceans. Monitoring millions of square kilometers of open waters and busy ports requires frequent data to deliver up-to-date insights.
Planet Earth observation (EO) data and maritime insights can support the persistent monitoring of territorial waterways, assessment of biodiversity shifts, and detection of vessels in near-real time.
Maritime Domain Awareness in Asia Pacific
The Asia-Pacific region’s vast and complex maritime domain is no stranger to geopolitical tensions. This year alone, multiple incidents of aggression and suspicious activity were reported across regional waters.
In May 2025, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry confirmed that the Chinese Liaoning Strike Group aircraft carriers were detected transiting contested zones near the Philippines, Japan, and Taiwan. While Japan’s Defense Ministry reported sightings of the strike group conducting fighter jet landing drills within its territory.
PlanetScope® image of the alleged Chinese carrier strike group transiting contested waters near the Philippines and Taiwan captured on May 28, 2025.
And in a news report by NK Pro, the suspected sanctioned Russian cargo Lady R was seen in a time series of satellite imagery between May and June 2025, docked at Port Rason in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The vessel was implicated in arms smuggling operations.
Planet satellite imagery of the suspected sanctioned vessel at Rason Port, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) captured on June 23, 2025.
Both cases used satellite imagery to monitor their areas of interest, identify irregularities, and verify incidents. Enhanced maritime domain awareness, with support from media reports, enabled defense agencies to make rapid, informed decisions and mitigate risks before they escalated.
Securing Asia-Pacific Waters
A panel discussion at Planet On The Road Bali, zeroed in on how integrated data — including satellite imagery — across land, maritime, aviation, space, and cyber is the new defense reality.
Evolving technologies and shifting conditions call for accessible, comprehensive data that can inform policy, guide strategy, and support timely action.
Planet On The Road Bali panel discussion, “Perspectives from Government Leaders: Staying Ahead of the Evolving Landscape.”
Planet satellite imagery and datasets can seamlessly integrate within existing GIS systems at scale, supporting near-real time monitoring and geospatial analysis. Explore the possibilities in our on-demand demos.
See our EO maritime insights in action at the Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition, November 4–6, 2025, in Sydney. You may also schedule a meeting with our team during the event.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release are “forward-looking statements” about Planet within the meaning of the securities laws, including statements about the Company’s ability to capture market opportunity and realize any of the potential benefits from current or future products, product enhancements, new products, or strategic partnerships and customer collaborations. Such statements, which are not of historical fact, involve estimates, assumptions, judgments and uncertainties. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those addressed in the forward-looking statements. Such factors are detailed in Planet’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Planet does not undertake an obligation to update its forward-looking statements to reflect future events, except as required by applicable law.
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