Vessel Tracking for Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2025

This legislation mandates the Secretary of Homeland Security, through U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to establish a pilot program at the National Targeting Center. The program will utilize big data analytics to identify and predict vessels that may be evading U.S. sanctions and export controls by disabling or manipulating their Automatic Identification System (AIS). Designed to run for four years, the pilot program aims to generate actionable intelligence for various law enforcement entities, including DHS components like ICE and the Coast Guard, other federal agencies, and appropriate foreign partners. It will consider a range of data elements, such as the type of goods, vessel destination, ownership, and patterns of AIS manipulation, to develop predictive models. The Secretary of Homeland Security is required to coordinate with the Secretary of Commerce and the Director of National Intelligence in developing and executing this program. Upon its conclusion, a comprehensive report must be submitted to Congress, assessing the program's effectiveness in identifying high-risk vessels. This report will detail the outcomes of interdictions, including whether vessels were confirmed to be evading controls and any penalties imposed. It will also track the destinations of un-interdicted vessels and provide recommendations on the future application of big data analytics for sanctions enforcement, while explicitly stating no new data collection or additional appropriations are authorized.