The Danish Maritime Fund-supported initiative transforms more than 70,000 corruption reports into practical tools for shipping companies and vessel crews worldwide

 For more than a decade, the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network  has collected reports of corruption demands, delays, coercion, and other integrity challenges faced by vessels around the world.

With support from The Danish Maritime Fund, MACN has now transformed that data into practical intelligence tools designed to support decision-making both ashore and at sea.

The resulting Global Port Integrity Platform (GPIP) combines more than 70,000 reported incidents from over 1,350 ports worldwide into a suite of tools that helps shipping companies assess risk, prepare crews before arrival, and integrate corruption intelligence directly into operational workflows. More than 75 organisations are already using the platform’s dashboard tools, while over 350 shipping companies receive corruption risk information through MACN’s pre-arrival communication systems.

While the maritime industry has long relied on professional judgement, experience, and local knowledge to understand corruption risks, GPIP complements that expertise with structured industry data. The platform enables users to identify patterns, compare ports, and access real-world incident intelligence in a consistent and scalable way.

“Shipping generates enormous amounts of operational data, but historically there has been very limited structured data available to help companies understand and manage corruption risks at the ports where they operate,” said Cecilia Müller Torbrand, CEO of MACN. “This initiative demonstrates how maritime data can be transformed into practical intelligence that supports better decisions, protects crews, and strengthens integrity across the industry.”

Supported by The Danish Maritime Fund, the project brought together maritime professionals, technology specialists, and academic partners to explore how decades of corruption reporting could be transformed into practical decision-support tools. The result is one of the world’s largest structured datasets focused specifically on maritime corruption risk, creating new opportunities for data-driven and AI-enabled approaches to integrity management in shipping.

One of the platform’s most practical applications is the delivery of port-specific intelligence directly to vessel crews. Through a low-bandwidth automated communication system, captains and crews receive relevant corruption risk information before arriving at port, helping them understand common challenges, prepare appropriate responses, and navigate situations with greater confidence. Thousands of these intelligence notifications have already been delivered through operational vessel workflows.

The project has also helped create the foundations for future AI applications within the maritime sector.

“The API integration with MACN’s corruption incidents database opens new possibilities for us. We’re exploring how to transform this real maritime data into actionable intelligence that flows directly to our vessels. It demonstrates how data collaboration can drive meaningful innovation in our industry.”

-Uriel Chareca, Head of Group Data & AI, TORM

While AI has already become part of discussions around vessel performance, routing, maintenance, and safety, applications related to integrity and corruption prevention remain at an early stage. By transforming years of incident reporting into structured and accessible intelligence, the platform provides a foundation for future innovation in this area.

For The Danish Maritime Fund, the initiative demonstrates how targeted investment in digital innovation can support both Danish maritime leadership and practical solutions for a global industry. Beyond the tools themselves, the project has shown how trusted industry data can be transformed into operational intelligence that reaches decision-makers ashore and crews at sea.

The completion of the project marks an important milestone, but MACN sees it primarily as the beginning of a broader effort to make corruption risk information more accessible and useful. By transforming one of the world’s largest maritime corruption datasets into practical operational tools, the Global Port Integrity Platform demonstrates how industry data can be used to support better decisions, strengthen integrity, and improve conditions for crews around the world.