This image visualizes the dramatic change in vessel traffic using heatmaps of the data. This is a comparison in X-band navigation radar for eleven days in early March before the countrywide lockdown and eleven days in the middle of March, when the lockdown was in force. Image is courtesy of HawkEye 360.

New data from HawkEye 360 reveals that Italy’s maritime activity in its ports dropped by half (51%) after the country-wide lockdown on March 10th and has remained subdued ever since, as the country prepares for a phased re-opening on Monday.

This data provides insight into the impact of the coronavirus on Italy’s trade and tourism industries – months before national statistics provide a formal assessment.

Since the March 10th lockdown, marine activity has largely come to a standstill in tourist destinations Venice and Florence while Genoa, Gioia Tauro and Trieste, some of the biggest cargo ports in Italy and all of Europe, have experienced significant decline.The data, collected by HawkEye 360’s satellite constellation, measures changes in patterns of vessels from Italian ports.

This chart visualizes port activity in Italy, which saw a sharp 51% drop in marine activity during the countrywide lockdown. Interestingly, vessel activity spiked right around the start of the lockdown, perhaps hinting at people fleeing the country for better tourism opportunities. Traffic remains subdued through April.
Image is courtesy of HawkEye 360.

HawkEye 360 is a new source of global knowledge based on radio frequency (RF) geo-analytics.The company operates the first-of-its-kind commercial satellite constellation to identify and geolocate a broad range of RF signals and extracts value from this unique data through proprietary algorithms, fusing the result with other sources to create powerful analytical ​products that offer increasing levels of clarity for our global customers. The company's products include maritime domain awareness and spectrum mapping and monitoring, serving a wide range of commercial, government and international organizations. HawkEye 360 is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia.