SOCAR Trading Collaborates with Windward to Enhance Sanctions Compliance and Due Diligence Processes

SOCAR Trading will use Windward's Predictive Intelligence platform to monitor its fleet, run counterparty due diligence, and ensure compliance with all sanctions regimes

LONDON, Oct. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Windward, the Predictive Intelligence company applying AI to transform global maritime trade, announced today that it is working with SOCAR Trading, the international marketing and development arm of SOCAR, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic. SOCAR Trading will use Windward's AI-powered platform to enhance its due diligence and screening processes when chartering tankers, monitoring its own fleet, and receiving cargo from third-party vessels.

As part of the national oil company of Azerbaijan, SOCAR Trading has a presence across the entire value chain, with assets and activity in exploration and production, pipelines and exports, refining and petrochemicals, logistics and wholesale, and retail and distribution. The company owns and charters crude and product tankers and receives cargo from third-party vessels. Against the backdrop of an increasingly complex sanctions environment, the evolving expectations of regulators and financiers, and sophisticated evasion tactics, the company requires an advanced solution for screening and tracking vessels, fleets, and companies in the maritime domain to ensure that these entities are safe to conduct business with.

"We're always on the lookout for innovative solutions that we can build into our compliance program that protect our interests and give us an edge over non-compliant actors in the market," said Richard Baron, Head of Compliance at SOCAR Trading. "Windward's AI-powered platform generates meaningful alerts with a low rate of false positives allowing the compliance team to dedicate more time on assessing and analyzing key risks."

Windward's Maritime AI platform analyzes numerous factors including vessel behaviors, ownership structures, company risks, and others, predicting in real-time which companies and vessels are likely to be high risk and which are safe to conduct business with. Integrating seamlessly into existing workflows, Windward's Predictive Intelligence platform flags suspicious events with 4X less false positives than traditional solutions, enabling SOCAR Trading to save time, increase efficiency, and focus on other business needs.

"We are proud to collaborate with SOCAR Trading, a trailblazing company in the risk and compliance space," said Ami Daniel, CEO and Co-Founder of Windward. "Our Predictive Intelligence platform is essential for traders to gain a comprehensive view of the entities they conduct business with to mitigate risk and optimize operations. In an ever-changing regulatory landscape Windward is empowering traders to go beyond maritime compliance and safety to digitalize their business for operational readiness and future forward decisions."

About Windward

Windward is the leading Predictive Intelligence company fusing AI and big data to digitalize the global maritime industry, enabling organizations to achieve business and operational readiness. Windward's AI-powered solution allows stakeholders including banks, commodity traders, insurers, and major energy and shipping companies to make real time, predictive intelligence-driven decisions, providing a 360° view of the maritime ecosystem and its broader impact on safety, security, finance, and business. For more information visit windward.ai.

About SOCAR Trading 

Headquartered in Geneva, SOCAR Trading is the international marketing and development arm of SOCAR, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic. SOCAR Trading was established in December 2007 with the mandate to market Azeri barrels produced from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field and other surrounding fields in Azerbaijan. It has subsequently expanded successfully into other markets. Along with expanding the U.S. desk, notably in crude trading, the Company is working to grow its light ends and LNG divisions, develop oil products trading, and further enlarge its positions in Southern and Eastern European gas trading. SOCAR Trading has experienced significant growth and profits in recent years, cementing its position as one of the most successful global energy trading companies. The Company is well positioned to expand further into new and existing markets.

Windward Media Contact
Sarah Schloss
Headline Media
sarah.schloss@headline.media
+1 914 506 5105

SOCAR Trading Media Contact
Grace Fenstermaker
Press@socartrading.com 
+41 76 399 61 28