Use Case 3: Irregular Migration

The Irregular Migration use case is supporting border and maritime authorities, by developing a rapid alert and detection system for pre-defined suspicious activities at sea potentially linked with irregular migration, along with accurate predictions of the most likely maritime routes followed by irregular vessels.

According to the European Migration network (EMN) Asylum and Migration Glossary, irregular migration is defined as the “movement of persons to a new place of residence or transit that takes place outside the regulatory norms of the sending, transit and receiving countries”. Irregular migration adapts quickly to changing circumstances and new procedures of law enforcement agencies (LEAs). Thus, to achieve a successful strategy, LEA and judicial cooperation frameworks need to be agile and have the capability to adapt to new modus operandi by developing new capabilities or enlarge their current service scope through the inclusion of new capabilities or elements.

The aim of this UC in AI4COPSEC is to leverage the current CSS (Copernicus Security Service) portfolio, namely the Border Surveillance component by enhancing and enlarging the current existing surveillance capabilities in order to respond to the current threats/scenarios identified in some of the main strategic documents at EU level. Moreover, these new proposed surveillance capabilities will provide more flexibility and tailor-made efficient information to the CSS portfolio.

Vessel of interest – Contains Copernicus Sentinel data 2025

Potential Departure Area – Contains Copernicus Sentinel data 2025

Objectives

01

Support border and maritime surveillance authorities with a rapid alert system to detect pre-defined suspicious human and vessel activities using near real-time satellite imagery and real-time risk intelligence.

02

Automatically manage different alert types and provide appropriate responses, linking alerts to specific human activities (e.g., suspicious vessel departures) and vessel behaviours.

03

Accurately predict the most likely marine routes of migrant vessels to enhance maritime situational awareness and reduce loss of life, enabling timely deployment of ship detection capabilities along these routes.

Partners involved