Resources
Official references and open-source investigation tools used in maritime verification and OSINT research.
Official Maritime References
The IMO's Global Integrated Shipping Information System. The canonical international list of flag state ship registers. Login required for full data access; information may lag behind current registry status.
International Association of Classification Societies. The definitive list of full and associate member classification societies.
The 12 leading mutual P&I clubs covering approximately 90% of the world's ocean-going tonnage.
Public vessel lookup by IMO number. Useful for cross-referencing the flag state and registered owner of a specific vessel.
OSINT & Investigation Tools
Search SSL/TLS certificate history for any domain. Invaluable for establishing when a site first appeared, finding related domains registered by the same operator, and spotting suspicious certificate patterns.
Historical snapshots of websites. A legitimate government maritime site will have years of history; a newly-registered fake will have few or no snapshots.
Internet-wide host and service scanner. Useful for investigating IP addresses — what else is hosted there, what services are running, and when they first appeared.
Internet infrastructure search. Cross-reference domains and IP addresses to find shared hosting and related infrastructure.
Domain and URL reputation check. Useful for a quick scan of whether a site has been flagged by security vendors.
WHOIS lookup with historical registrant data. Reveals who registered a domain, when, and — where not privacy-protected — their contact details.