Ship traffic monitoring using multi-polarisation satellite SAR images combined with AIS reports

Ship traffic monitoring may be carried out more effectively by combining satellite SAR images with an automatic ship identification system (AIS). We show how detecting ships within SAR images can be made more reliable if several polarisations are combined with appropriate radar incidence angles during acquisition. A common knowledge base of SAR ship signatures for particular polarisations and inci-dence angles are built up by combining ships detected in SAR images with ship parameters given in AIS reports from the existing coastal chain in Norway. An operational system should combine satellite AIS reports with satellite SAR images for rescue and security operations.