Evidence Evidence model

What we mean by evidence.

A Peloryn finding is never a bare alert. Every signal carries four things: where it came from, when it was true, how sure we are, and what it can — and cannot — be used to decide.

Anatomy of a finding

Four attributes on every signal.

AIS gap near SkawBehavioural
SourceAIS · provider feed
Observed2026-06-21 02:14–16:38 UTC
ConfidenceHigh · 14h gap, high-coverage zone
BasisBehavioural — reviewable indicator
Bears on§5 Behavioural · §6 Dark activity
  1. 1
    Source

    The authority, feed, or record the signal came from — named, never anonymous.

  2. 2
    Timestamp

    When it was observed, in UTC. Evidence is a moment in time, and we say which.

  3. 3
    Confidence

    How strongly the data supports the signal — stated, not implied.

  4. 4
    Basis

    What kind of evidence it is — which decides how far it can move the verdict.

Two kinds of evidence

Official-source and behavioural are not the same — so we never treat them the same.

This is the discipline that keeps a Peloryn file defensible. A behavioural pattern can raise a vessel for review. It can never, on its own, declare a vessel sanctioned.

Official-source evidence

The published record

A direct match on an official sanctions list — the vessel or an associated entity, with the list version recorded. This is hard evidence of a designation.

Can drive a verdict up to Reject
Behavioural evidence

The observed conduct

AIS gaps, ship-to-ship contact, reflagging, ownership opacity — patterns that often precede a listing, but are not proof of one. Each is a reviewable indicator.

Escalates only to Investigate — never implies a listing

Why this matters to you

When a reviewer — yours, your bank’s, or a regulator’s — opens a Peloryn file, they can trace every conclusion back to a source and a moment. Nothing is asserted that isn’t shown. That is the difference between a screenshot and a record that survives scrutiny.

It is also why Peloryn will say “insufficient data” out loud. Where the evidence doesn’t support a confident answer, we show the gap rather than hide it — because an honest boundary is worth more than a false certainty.

See how findings combine into a score and a decision →

Evidence you can defend

See a real finding, end to end.

Start free on Protect, or request a sample Verify report and trace every signal to its source.