MAR Fund
The leading insurance tool dedicated to assessing illicit fishing risk
Key Details
Project Lead: ORRAA
Financial Innovation: Apps & Tech
Supporting Partners: Global Fishing Watch, TMT, and Oceana
Financial Support: Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the UK’s Blue Planet Fund
Location: Global
Project Timeline: Ongoing (2021-2026)
Summary
ORRAA, along with our partners Global Fishing Watch and TMT, have developed Vessel Viewer, an innovative technology tool for insurers to help combat iIllegal unreported and Uunregulated (IUU) fishing. It is the first risk assessment tool purpose-built to integrate diverse vessel identity, activity, and risk indicators specifically related to illicit fishing.
By adopting Vessel Viewer, insurers not only protect their bottom line – avoiding exposure to vessels engaged in illegal and high-risk activities – but also reduce underwriting losses and legal liabilities associated with insuring such vessels. This financial due diligence helps prevent costly claims and reputational damage, while enabling insurers to demonstrate leadership in sustainability.
Challenge
IUU fishing undercuts effective fisheries management and harms Ocean ecosystems. It is estimated that IUU fishing costs the global economy over USD$20 billion annually, leading to some fish stocks being on the verge of collapse.
For insurers, having IUU vessels on their books is bad for business. Vessels engaging in or supporting IUU fishing expose their insurers to financial risks from increased and potentially fraudulent claims as well as to both legal and reputational liabilities. In many cases, IUU fishing has also been linked to other serious transnational crimes – including money laundering, drugs smuggling, labour and human rights abuses such as modern day slavery.
Solution
Removing access to insurance is one lever that has significant potential to deter IUU fishing globally. Vessel Viewer, a vessel history and insights tool, is the leading insurance tool dedicated to assessing illicit fishing risk, developed by Global Fishing Watch and TMT. It provides insurance underwriters with instant access to vessel identity and activity information across time and provides a snapshot summary on the likelihood that a specific fishing vessel is engaging in risky activity to trigger further review.
The initiative was also developed in collaboration with an environmental non-profit, Oceana, which has led parallel work to secure approval of new insurance policy wording with the Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) that enables insurers to cut off policy coverage to a vessel, its owners or managers, if they are added to an official IUU vessel list.
Scalability and Next Steps
Vessel Viewer was co-developed with inputs from 16 insurance and reinsurance companies during its beta phase. Following its launch in October 2023, additional features such as new vessel data and insights, automated vessel group (portfolio) review and dynamic reporting were released in 2024 and early 2025.
Vessel Viewer is now available for commercial use by insurers. Its Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are also now available for integration directly into insurers’ internal data tools.
For a commercial license or further information, please contact: paul.whitaker@globalfishingwatch.org
Vessel Viewer provides insurers with data and insights, including the areas and duration a vessel spends out at sea, access to historical data to monitor vessel behavioural trends, and proactively evaluate vessel risks. The tool gives the sector the opportunity to bolster due diligence and make better-informed decisions”. – Matthew Ginman, Underwriting Manager, British Marine
