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OSINT NewsletterMARITIME

OSINT CTF: Tracking the Syrian Arms Transport Vessel — "The Vessel"

Alp Akciğer2 min read

Bu çözümün Türkçesi de var: sağ üstten dili TR yapın.

Introduction

In maritime tracking and intelligence analysis, vessels frequently undergo identity shifts—changing flags, ownership, and names—to obscure operational history or bypass sanctions. In this challenge titled “The Vessel” hosted by The OSINT Newsletter, we are tasked with identifying the original name of a specific cargo vessel associated with weapons shipments from Syria dating back to June 2000.

Challenge Brief

  • Category: Passive OSINT / Maritime Intelligence
  • Target Objective: Identify the original name of the vessel on June 2000 using only its IMO number.
  • Starting Material: IMO 9220641
  • Flag Format: osintnewsletter{VESSEL_NAME}
Figure 1: The Vessel challenge description and submission rules from The OSINT Newsletter.
Figure 1: The Vessel challenge description and submission rules from The OSINT Newsletter.

Investigation Methodology

Step 1: Querying the IMO Identifier

Every sea-going commercial vessel is assigned an International Maritime Organization (IMO) number that remains permanently tied to its hull throughout its lifecycle, regardless of reflagging, renaming, or ownership changes.

Starting with the provided unique identifier IMO 9220641, I queried open-source maritime tracking registries and databases (such as VesselFinder) to pull the full registration profile.

Figure 2: VesselFinder registry entry for IMO 9220641, currently identified as the Russian-flagged cargo ship LADY MARIIA.
Figure 2: VesselFinder registry entry for IMO 9220641, currently identified as the Russian-flagged cargo ship LADY MARIIA.

The current profile reveals:

  • Current Name: LADY MARIIA
  • IMO / MMSI: 9220641 / 273292160
  • Vessel Type: Ro-Ro Cargo Ship
  • Flag: Russia

Step 2: Historical Name & Ownership Audit

To answer the challenge objective, modern real-time AIS positional data is secondary; what matters is the vessel’s historical registry timeline.

Accessing the vessel’s documented name and flag history table, we can track all operational rebrands down to the keel and maiden registration dates[cite: 4]:

  • 2022 Feb: LADY MARIIA
  • 2021 Jun: STELLA-MARIA
  • 2019 Jan: GLOBAL CARRIER
  • 2014 Apr: OCEAN DREAM
  • 2013 Oct: RIO KONAN
  • 2007 Jul: BBC KONAN
  • 2006 Oct: BBC FINLANDIA
  • 2005 Sep: RICKMERS FINLANDIA
  • 2000 June: SCAN FINLANDIA
Figure 3: Historical registry breakdown showing the initial June 2000 entry recorded under the name SCAN FINLANDIA.
Figure 3: Historical registry breakdown showing the initial June 2000 entry recorded under the name SCAN FINLANDIA.

Looking directly at the June 2000 entry, the vessel was officially registered and launched under the name SCAN FINLANDIA

Flag Submission

Following the required uppercase submission format:

osintnewsletter{SCAN_FINLANDIA}

Conclusion & Acknowledgments

This challenge illustrates how persistent identifiers like IMO numbers defeat surface-level identity masking in maritime tracking. A special thank you to The OSINT Newsletter team for putting together this realistic and practical challenge for the intelligence community!

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Originally published on Substack

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