Accurate information on port shipping activities is critical for monitoring global and local traffic flows and assessing the state of development of the maritime industry. Such information is necessary for managers and analysts to make strategic decisions and monitor the maritime industry in achieving management goals. In this study, we used monthly night light (NTL) images of the Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day/Night Band, between 2012 and 2020, to study the night lights emitted by ships in ports’ anchorage areas, as an indicator for shipping activity in anchorage areas and ports. Using a dataset covering 601 anchorage areas from 97 countries, we found a strong correspondence between NTL data and shipping metrics at the country level (n = 97), such as container port throughput (R_s = 0.84, p < 0.01) and maximum cargo carried by ships (R_s = 0.66, p < 0.01), as well as a strong correlation between the number of anchorage points and the NTL values in anchorage areas across the world (R_s = 0.69, p < 0.01; n = 601). The high correspondence levels of the VIIRS NTL data with various shipping indicators show the potential of using NTL data to analyze the spatio-temporal dynamic changes of the shipping activity in anchorage areas, providing convenient open access and a normalized assessment method for shipping industry parameters that are often lacking.

Humans depend on oceans and seas’ marine ecosystems for important and valuable goods and services, but human use has also altered the marine environment through direct and indirect means. Land-based and ocean-based human activities vary in their intensity of impact on the marine environmental conditions and their spatial distribution across the scape. Since opening the Suez Canal, the spatial distribution of such a human-made environmental change needs to be understood and quantified to be able to evaluate tradeoffs between the canal and the protection of the Mediterranean marine ecosystem. Such temporal and spatial evaluation will help to improve and rationalize the spatial management of the Mediterranean Sea of human activities. Evaluation of the ecological impact of the Suez Canal on the Mediterranean Sea requires a method for translating the impact into marine impacts and spatial data of the activities.

Maritime transport, responsible for delivering over eighty percent of the world’s goods, is the backbone of the global delivery industry. However, it also presents considerable environmental risks, particularly regarding aquatic contamination. Nearly ninety percent of marine oil spills near shores are attributed to human activities, highlighting the urgent need for continuous and effective surveillance. To address this pressing issue, this paper introduces a novel technique named OS-BREEZE. This method employs an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) for assessing the extent of oil pollution on the sea surface. The OS-BREEZE algorithm directs the USV along the spill edge, facilitating rapid and accurate assessment of the contaminated area. The key contribution of this paper is the development of this novel approach for monitoring and managing marine pollution, which significantly reduces the path length required for mapping and estimating the size of the contaminated area. Furthermore, this paper presents a scale model experiment executed at the Coastal and Marine Engineering Research Institute (CAMERI). This experiment demonstrated the method’s enhanced speed and efficiency compared to traditional monitoring techniques. The experiment was methodically conducted across four distinct scenarios: the initial and advanced stages of an oil spill at the outer anchoring, as well as scenarios at the inner docking on both the stern and port sides.