Safeguarding Navigation: How Marlink Counters Jamming and Spoofing

Knowing your vessel’s true position has never been more critical. Shipowners and operators rely on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) – GPS, Galileo, GLONASS and BeiDou – for accurate positioning and timing. These signals travel from satellites over 20,000 km away and reach ships at sea extremely weak, making them vulnerable to interference.

Over the past 25 years, deliberate RF cyber-attacks—through GNSS jamming and spoofing—have become tools of geopolitical disruption. In one recent case, falsified signals grounded a container ship near Jeddah. With nearly 20% of global oil and gas passing through strategic chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz, even a single incident can ripple across world trade.

What’s the threat?

• Jamming, a form of RF cyber-attack, floods receivers with noise, blocking genuine signals.
• Spoofing, another RF-based tactic, is more insidious: counterfeit signals mimic real ones, tricking systems into reporting false positions.

These attacks are cheap to mount but costly in impact. In mid-2025, interference in key shipping lanes disrupted AIS on hundreds of vessels, reducing traffic through major sea corridors by up to 25% within days. Crews faced conflicting data between electronic charts, radar and visual bearings.

The consequences go beyond navigation: false positions risk collisions, detentions and delays that drive up fuel costs and insurance premiums. Crew safety is at stake. Recognising this, the ITU, IMO and ICAO warn that RF cyber-attacks threaten global transport and urge governments to protect GNSS and maintain traditional aids. Europe is responding with plans to strengthen Galileo through authentication and multi-orbit redundancy.

Marlink’s Response

As the front runner in remote connectivity and network orchestration, Marlink sees the escalation first-hand. Our help desk once handled a GPS query every two weeks; by mid-2025, we were assisting up to 150 vessels per month. In July, Marlink President Tore Morten Olsen warned in Splash 24/7 (read article) that attacks in the Red Sea now include GPS spoofing, causing ships to appear at impossible speeds or anchored on land—impacting mandatory safety systems.

Resilience starts on the bridge. Paper charts, sextants and compasses remain vital fallbacks. Crews are reminded never to disable navigation equipment, as spoofers can create zones that block real signals.

Marlink is investing in layered solutions:

• Advanced receivers that analyse signal angles and timing to separate genuine satellite transmissions from land-based interference.
• Network-wide monitoring to detect anomalies in positioning data.

These innovations align with industry calls for multi-constellation receivers, low Earth orbit signals and self-contained navigation systems.

Navigating Safely and Sharing the Message

Resilience depends on awareness, redundancy and practice. Bridge teams should understand how RF cyber-attacks like jamming and spoofing work, spot improbable positions or speeds and cross-check data. Ships need multi-constellation receivers and alternative systems, while manual skills remain essential.

Reporting incidents to Marlink and authorities builds situational awareness and drives regulatory action. With insurance and compliance trends moving toward resilient navigation, investing in training and technology now is not just prudent—it’s essential.

Ready to strengthen your navigational resilience?
Contact Marlink to discuss how you can protect your fleet against GNSS interference and maintain operational continuity.