Malfrat’s OSINT MAP – China OSINT

This page has a compilation of tools, from Malfrat’s OSINT Map, that we have found useful in research and investigations in the China OSINT space.

VesselFinder

This tool can be found in the “Transportation” arm of Malfrat’s OSINT Map. VesselFinder allows you to see, in real time, the locations of ships in the ocean. There is a paid and free version but for simple searching and one time use, the free version is fine. As this covers Chinese vessels and tracks vessels in and around China; we have found this to be brilliant resource.

It does look very confusing to start with, however, it’s very simple to use and can offer a lot of information. The site allows filtering to type of vessel so the map isn’t so overcrowded.

For the example above, the filter selected was “passenger/cruise ships” and you can see immediately the difference this makes to the map view.

Clicking on one of the markers gives you information about the vessel for example destination, how long it’s been on it’s journey, where it has come from, the make/weight/size and age of the vessel. The site also sometimes provides an image of it. This information can be useful when fact checking and if you are conducting your own investigations into vessel movement in and around China/World.

You can find the price and breakdown of what each category gives you here. If you are planning on using this on a regular basis, then the premium version should cover. More in-depth looking at multiple vessels would definitely require the Satellite subscription.

OpenRailway Map

The OpenRailway Map is a useful tool to get an idea of where the main rail lines are across the world. The tool also covers China.

You can see the view is very messy but it shows how connected some parts of the world are over others. The map shows High Speed Lines (Red) and Main Lines (Orange). Unfortunately, there are no filters but you can search for a station.

This gives you location and is useful to visualize where that station is in relation to the rest of the rail lines. A legend appears at the side when you click on a station from the suggested list; this explains what colours relate to what type of track.

Overall for China OSINT investigations/ Research, this tool is handy when factchecking and seeing what potential routes could be used in rail travel.

Baidu Maps

Baidu Maps is perfect for looking at geolocation in China. It is kept up to date and is used by people in China like the west use Google maps. This is very much a China OSINT specific tool due to lack of information for the rest of the world but it overall, works exactly like Google maps.

When looking at a country the map shows you a “City List” in a drop down. This is really helpful if you’re a non-Chinese speaker, as labels on the map itself are in Chinese.

This tool is most useful for geolocating images and fact checking location based information. There is a street view option on the map as well as pop up’s that shows an image of landmarks such as parks, hospitals and schools. We have used this tool on many investigations and rate it as one of the best for China OSINT.