SEA.AI has been awarded a public tender by the Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico (MITECO), Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, to supply AI-powered maritime Machine Vision systems in support of marine research, conservation, and safety at sea.
The contract, secured in collaboration with regional partner TMS Maritime Solutions, covers the delivery and deployment of seven SEA.AI systems across a range of vessels and operational environments.
Scientists and maritime authorities are working to better understand the behaviour of large cetaceans, whose presence in busy shipping lanes poses risks to both vessel safety and threatened populations.
SEA.AI systems combine optical and thermal imaging with artificial intelligence to enable continuous, real-time detection and classification of objects and marine life, day or night, regardless of sea conditions.
Beyond cetacean monitoring, the technology has wide-ranging safety applications for both recreational and commercial vessels. AI Machine Vision improves situational awareness for crews, reducing collision risk and supporting critical use cases such as person-overboard detection.
“This project comes at a critical moment, interactions between vessels and marine mammals are becoming both more visible and more complex. We are proud to support Spain’s authorities with the tools they need to navigate this challenge safely and responsibly.“ Esteban Campos added.
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The project was made possible through SEA.AI’s collaboration with TMS Maritime Solutions, whose regional expertise was instrumental in securing and implementing the tender.
The award represents a significant milestone for SEA.AI in the Iberian market and underlines the growing demand for AI-driven solutions at the intersection of ocean conservation and maritime safety.
SEA.AI deploys AI vision systems on Spanish vessels to detect whales and improve maritime safety
SEA.AI has been selected as a finalist for the Prix Next Innov 2026, recognized for building maritime AI through years of real offshore operations rather than simulation.
Radar sees a contact. AIS shows a name, provided the vessel chooses to broadcast one. When a threat USV does neither, optical AI is the only sensor layer that still sees it. That is the gap SEA.AI was built to close.
